Commercial sea cucumber trading status in Indonesia

Indonesia has been harvesting sea cucumbers from the wild and exporting them to other countries, particularly China, for almost 400 years. As a result, Indonesian sea cucumbers have been over-exploited. This is largely due to Indonesia's lack of management plans specific to sea cucumber conservation. Therefore, an accurate understanding of sea cucumber utilization in Indonesia is necessary to inform management actions. This study collected and analyzed trade data for six species of sea cucumber with a high international market value: Holothuria fuscogilva, H. nobilis, H. whitmaei, H. scabra, H. lessoni, and Thelenota ananas. Data were collected from 11 exporters with the cooperation of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, and the Indonesian Institute of Sciences. Total exports from 2017 to 2020 amounted to 323,400 kg for H. fuscogilva; 136,630 kg for H. nobilis; 164,566 kg for H. whitmaei; 86,376 kg for H. scabra; 93,050 kg for H. lessoni; and 156,606 kg for T. ananas. Trends in total export data could be used as the basis for calculating harvest quotas to be implemented in Indonesia.