In the 1970s, the shallow waters of Maliwaliw Island in Salcedo, Eastern Samar, Philippines host a rich sea cucumber stock . However, in the early 1990s, unregulated gathering of the resource resulted to depletion of the wild sea cucumber populations adversely affecting the livelihood of the subsistence fishers in the island. Anecdotal account from the community tells of the disappearance of commercially important species, including the high-value Holothuria scabra (sandfish) . In 2013, a sandfish sea ranching project was implemented in an attempt to re-establish the sea cucumber population. Prior to the project implementation, a rapid survey of the area was conducted to assess the suitability of the site for sandfish sea ranching. The area was found to be almost devoid of sea cucumbers except for Synapta sp. Hence, this study was conducted to investigate the ecological impact of sandfish sea ranching in the nearshore waters of Maliwaliw Island. A 5-ha ranch along the south-eastern coast of Maliwaliw Island was established following a community-based sea ranch development model . In July 2023, ten years after the project implementation, sea cucumber population in the near shore waters including a portion of the sea ranch site was reassessed. Rapid survey of the area was done during the day and night at low tide employing a zig-zag survey design to cover wide area . Crevices and rocks were hand-search ed, and all sea cucumbers encountered were identified, counted, measured (length), and photographed . The time spent in gathering was recorded and the area covered was noted using a Garmin GPS unit.
The survey covering 2.7 ha. recorded a total of 507 sea cucumber individuals , belonging to five genera and 15 species (Figure and Table 1). While Synapta sp. still comprised the highest number of individuals , the presence of species with high commercial value were now also evident in the area.
The s ignificant recovery in the sea cucumber population shown in this study, demonstrates the potential of sea ranching in reviving the sea cucumber biodiversity in Maliwaliw Island. A ctive community involvement in and support for the project are important factors for the sustainable conservation of not just sea cucumbers but also of other coastal resources.