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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 229 / Thursday, December 2, 2021 / Notices
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Report was unknown with a confidence rating of 1.
Overutilization for Commercial, Recreational, Scientific, or Educational Purposes The harvest of H. nobilis for the purpose of supplying Asian markets with beche-de-mer i.e., the processed form of sea cucumbers, either boiled, dried, or smoked, is considered to be the greatest threat to the species. This harvest has resulted in declines in local population abundance of sea cucumbers since the early 1990s. Many of the harvested populations of sea cucumbers, including across the range of H. nobilis, are considered either to be fully exploited, overexploited, or depleted See Figure 8 in NMFS 2021; Purcell et al. 2011. Teatfish species, including H.
nobilis, are largely exploited in smallscale and artisanal fisheries throughout their range. Harvest at these scales has proven difficult to manage, with booms in fishing typically followed by closures or moratoriums on fishing once stocks have been depleted. Overall, there is little international or regional coordination in management of these fisheries FAO 2019.
We assume that demand for high value sea cucumber species, including H. nobilis will continue. The extent to which harvest is impacting H. nobilis populations in the Western Indian Ocean is largely unknown, although there are some indications that overharvest may be impacting populations in Chagos, Egypt, Madagascar, Mayotte, Saudi Arabia, and Tanzania as there have been documented declines in abundance.
Additionally, there is a lack of recent fisheries-dependent data as many of the countries have banned sea cucumber fishing, including Comoros, Egypt, India, Mauritius, Mayotte, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, and Yemen. However, despite these bans, there is evidence of continued fishing pressure on sea cucumbers through illegal, unregulated, and unreported IUU fishing. IUU
fishing is common in the range of H.
nobilis depicted in Figure 10 in NMFS
2021. Evidence of illegal fishing has specifically been documented in Saudi Arabia, Mayotte, Yemen, Egypt, Mauritius, and Tanzania.
Finally, overall and country specific trade data for H. nobilis are unknown.
The trade value chains and fishery-tomarket tracing do not provide specieslevel data. An estimated 10,000 tons of beche-de-mer are traded internationally each year, corresponding to about 200
million individuals harvested Purcell et al. 2016. Beche-de-mer, including H.
nobilis, are sold primarily to Asian
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markets in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region SAR, Singapore, Taiwan, Peoples Republic of China, Korea, and Malaysia CITES
2019; Purcell et al. 2012. H. nobilis is sold for 20 U.S. Dollars USD to 80
USD/kg dry weight, depending on size and condition; prices in Hong Kong retail markets range from 106 USD to 139 USD/kg dried Purcell et al. 2012.
However, this product may now have a higher retail price. Purcell et al. 2018
report that demand, and hence prices of most beche-de-mer species appear to have steadily increased since 2011;
however, this study did not cover the value of H. nobilis. Being of high value, teatfish species are preferentially targeted by fishers and exporters. While H. nobilis may be following similar trends to other high-value species, the lack of species-specific data makes it difficult to know to what extent.
Based on the above information, the rated risk to the species assigned in the Status Review Report was moderate with a confidence rating of 2.
Disease and Predation The extent to which disease and parasites result in sea cucumber mortality in the wild is largely unknown. The impact of predation as a threat on H. nobilis also remains unknown. Thus, the rated risk to the species assigned in the Status Review Report was unknown with a confidence rating of 0.
Inadequacy of Existing Regulatory Mechanisms The establishment of management strategies for H. nobilis has been and still is hindered by a lack of basic biological and ecological information as well as limited information on existing and historical sea cucumber fisheries Bruckner 2006. The regulatory measures most common in sea cucumber fisheries for the Indo-Pacific are minimum legal size limits, gear restrictions bans on the use of scuba, requirements for exporters to submit logbooks, and no-take reserves FAO
2013; Purcell et al. 2011. There are sea cucumber fishing bans in place in Yemen, Egypt, Mauritius, Saudi Arabia, Tanzania, and Mayotte Hasan 2009;
Eriksson et al. 2012; FAO 2013.
Madagascars sea cucumber fisheries regulate the minimum legal size of capture to 11 cm body length for all sea cucumbers. They also prohibit the use of scuba for the collection of sea cucumbers FAO 2013. India has banned the export of all wild taken specimens of species listed under CITES
Appendix I, II, and III and heavy fines and imprisonment can be imposed
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FAO 2013. The Seychelles has a licensing program that requires an annual sea cucumber fishing and processing license be purchased. Since 2001, a maximum of 25 licenses have been distributed each year.
Additionally, fishers logbooks are required to be submitted regularly. Noncompliance can result in non-renewal of their fishing license Aumeeruddy and Conand 2008. The assessment of individual species and fishing effort are necessary to determine whether these existing regulations are likely to be effective at maintaining the sustainability of the resources. To date, however, the harvest of H. nobilis and its impact on the population has not been assessed.
Another regulatory mechanism that will affect H. nobilis is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CITESan international agreement between governments established with the aim of ensuring that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
H. nobilis is newly listed under Appendix II of CITES. In total three species of teatfish were listed under Appendix II of CITES in 2019 with an effective date of August 2020; H.
whitmaei, H. fuscogilva, and H. nobilis.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO establishes an expert Panel in advance of each CITES Conference of the Parties CoP to review marine species proposals. This Expert Panel is tasked with assessing proposals from a scientific perspective and in accordance with CITES
biological listing criteria FAO 2008
2021. The assessment of this proposal concluded that H. whitmaei met the CITES Appendix II listing criteria, while H. fuscogilva did not meet the listing criteria, and a determination could not be made for H. nobilis due to insufficient data. However, all three species were listed under Appendix II of CITES under a look-alike provision.
Appendix II includes species that are not necessarily threatened with extinction, but for which trade must be controlled in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival.
International trade of Appendix II
species is permitted when export permits are granted from the country of origin. In order to issue an export permit, the exporting country must find that the animals were legally obtained and their export will not be detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild referred to as a non-detriment finding.
The extent to which existing regulatory mechanisms are inadequate
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