How sea cucumbers are boosting the bioeconomy in Zanzibar
Mwanasha, from the Uzi Island, is a mother of five. After her husband died, she depended on seaweed farming for her family’s survival.
FAO teaches local women and men how to farm sea cucumbers sustainably. Photos: ©FAO/Christabel Clark
Seaweed is a precious product for the 25 000 Zanzibari farmers that depend on it, 80 percent of whom are women. But climate change is causing a rise in temperatures, taking a toll on our oceans. Warmer waters represent a real threat to seaweed production, inhibiting its growth and making it susceptible to bacteria. The seaweed these female farmers collect mostly for export is no longer flourishing.
The only option is to venture into the cooler, much deeper waters, but here the seaweed can be damaged by stronger currents and most of the farmers cannot swim. This is not the only obstacle: a drop in the global price of seaweed has left these farmers working six-hour days to earn just 1 000 Tanzanian shillings – or USD 0.44 – for the two kilograms they usually manage to collect.
In the face of these difficulties, FAO saw an opportunity to introduce a new livelihood and train women, already skilled in working in the ocean, to farm sea cucumbers.
Sea cucumbers: a lucrative delicacy
The Holothuria scabra species of sea cucumbers may not be pretty, but they are lucrative. Depending on quality, this grey filter feeder currently earns farmers up to USD 100 per kilogram once dried. They are in hot demand on the Asian market because with increasing pollution in East Asia’s shallow waters, local sea cucumbers are diminishing. Consequently, China is looking to import these delicacies.