Social and ecological impacts, challenges, and lessons learned from the sandfish sea ranching experience in Maliwaliw Island, Eastern Samar, Philippines

Since the 1970s, Samar and Leyte islands had a thriving sea cucumber fishery but have rapidly declined over the years. In Maliwaliw Island, anecdotal accounts validated by the community revealed that the island had a brisk sea cucumber fishery but collapsed due to uncontrolled collection. In 2013, a sandfish sea ranching project was implemented in Maliwaliw Island, Salcedo, Eastern Samar, to bring back the sandfish that has disappeared from the area, and subsequently provide a supplemental livelihood to the local fishers. This study was conducted to investigate the impacts and lessons learned from the sandfish project. Recruitment of wild stock, increased community knowledge of sea cucumber biology and ecology, additional income through sandfish bycatch, and perceived enhancement of the coastal marine environment of the island were among the positive gains from the project identified by the respondents. On the other hand, poaching by fishers from neighboring communities resulting in inter-community conflicts was a major challenge. Clearly, the sandfish sea ranching project in Maliwaliw achieved ecological, social, and economic impacts on the project participants and the community. However, these gains need to be strengthened with effective management measures including size regulation to sustain the sea cucumber fishery in the area.