Project Summary

Sand fish (Holothuria scabra) is an economically important sea cucumber that has been over-exploited along its distribution range in the Western Indian Ocean regions including Tanzania. Due to the significant population decline the species is included in the IUCN Red List of Endangered species. This has raised interest in improving its management. The government of Tanzania has been making efforts to improve management of the fishery to allow the recovery of the stock through a national fishery ban and increasing the number of Marine Protected Areas, but the progress is hampered by the lack of data on the genetic stock structures and the patterns of genetic connectivity between spawning and fishing grounds.

This Project uses the microsatellite markers to reveal the appropriate management units for the sand fish (Holothuria Scabra) along the Tanzanian coast. This project will increase capability for better harmonization of the management approaches with the genetic stock structure of the sand fish to improve productivity and sustainability of the fishery.