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How can human actions help restore the balance of the ocean ecosystems where Isostichopus fuscus, the brown sea cucumber, lives?

Isostichopus fuscus, more commonly known as the brown sea cucumber, is an endangered species. I. fuscus is not a vegetable, although it resembles the cucumber. It is an invertebrate in the phylum Echinodermata. It is classified as EN (Endangered) by IUCN Red List. This paper will discuss how human action can help restore the balance of the ocean ecosystems where sea cucumbers live.

The brown sea cucumber is an invertebrate, an animal without a backbone. Invertebrates are cold-blooded, make up more than 90% of all animals in the world. They are divided into nine major phylums. I. fuscus is in the phylum Echinodermata, which means it lives in saltwater and has an external spine. Echinodermata, which translates to spiny skin in Greek, contains about 6,000 species. Some examples are the starfish, sea urchin, sand dollar, and sea lily. Echinoderms are found at all ocean depths and are the largest phylum with no freshwater or land animals.

I. fuscus has an elongated body and leathery skin that is brown with orange tube feet. It does not have a brain, but is able to carry out all normal functions. It lives in shallow waters off the Pacific coast of South and Central America. Sea cucumbers are found in reefs and rocky habitats (IUCN). They are omnivores, eating tiny particles like algae, minute aquatic animals, or waste materials, which they gather in with tube feet surrounding their mouths (National Geographic). They also use their tube feet to move around. Sea cucumbers reproduce both sexually and asexually. They release large

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How can human actions help restore the balance of the ocean ecosystems where Isostichopus fuscus, the brown sea cucumber, lives?

numbers of sperm and eggs into the water and The life span of the sea cucumber is 5-17 years, and their maximum weight and length are 1.8 lbs and 36 cm respectively. Sea cucumbers protect themselves from danger by ejecting fine sticky threads from their anus that ensnare their predators. Also their brown skin color provides camouflage so that predators overlook them.

Some major threats to the sea cucumber inclued illegal fishing, eutrophication of the water, and the harvesting of adults for breeding in aquaculture. These can be stopped by a variety of different ways such as banning or regulating the fisheries for this species, investigating illegal fishing, and breeding I. fuscus in captivity.

One way the sea cucumber can be helped is by banning fisheries for this species in the countries where it lives. Then the depleted populations of I. fuscus can recover without human interference. This is already done in Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, and Mexico. In Mexico the sea cucumber fishery started in 1988 and ended in 1994 when the government imposed a total closure because the species was endangered.

The fishers didnt obey the closure, which leads to the second action. Governments should investigate illegal fishing, and enforce the bans. Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Costa Rica all have reports of illegal activities concerning sea cucumbers. It has become so bad that in Peru and the Galapagos Islands the species is

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How can human actions help restore the balance of the ocean ecosystems where Isostichopus fuscus, the brown sea cucumber, lives?

considered economically extinct. In Mexico the sea cucumber populations have had no significant recovery after the ban on fishing. This may be a result of illegal fishing and/or because population densities might be lower than the minimum level needed for successful reproduction (Toral-Granda).

The third thing that can be done is that if sea cucumbers can't reproduce in the wild, they could be bred in captivity, then released into the wild to replenish low population levels. There has been a successful attempt to breed I. fuscus in land-based installations on the coast of Ecuador (FAO). The study showed that the sea cucumber can be reared in captivity. This could replace or supplement fisheries, and supply Taiwan and Hong Kong with sea cucumbers for beche-de-mer, which is considered a delicacy in Asian countries, and is the cause of the demand for I. fuscus and other species of sea cucumber.

In conclusion, there are many ways human actions can help restore the ocean ecosystems where sea cucumbers live. The government can ban the fishing of I. fuscus, and investigate illegal fishing. If the populations dont recover, sea cucumbers can be bred in captivity and released into the wild, or sold so that the wild ones are left alone. If these things are done, then the brown sea cucumber will be saved.

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How can human actions help restore the balance of the ocean ecosystems where Isostichopus fuscus, the brown sea cucumber, lives?
Bibliography
Wit, Lawrence C. Invertebrate. World Book Advanced. World Book, 2009. Web. 7 Dec 2009. "The Wonders of the Seas: Echinoderms."Oceanic Research. Oceanic Research Group, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2014. <http://www.oceanicresearch.org/education/wonders/echinoderm.html>.

"Advances in sea cucumber aquaculture and management." FAO Corporate Document Repository. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation, n.d. Web. 8 Feb. 2014. <http://www.fao.org/docrep/007/y5501e/y5501e14.htm>. "Isostichopus fuscus." The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2014. <http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/180373/0>. Toral-Granda, Veronica. "Population status, fisheries and trade of sea cucumbers in Latin America and the Caribbean." FAO Corporate Document Repository. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014. <ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/011/i0375e/i0375e07.pdf>. Gutirrez-Garca, Alexandra. "Potential culture of sea cucumber in Mexico." SPC Secretariat of the Pacific Community. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 1921. <http://www.spc.int/DigitalLibrary/Doc/FAME/InfoBull/BDM/11/BDM11_26_Gutierrez.pdf>.
"Sea Cucumber." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2014. <http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/sea-cucumber/>.