Description and summary of research results from a PARDI scoping study on post-harvest processing of sea cucumbers into beche-de-mer on Pacific islands. Project funded by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). Research work by Southern Cross University, Kiribati Ministry of Fisheries, and the Tonga Ministry of Fisheries. Filmed on the atoll of Onotoa, Gilbert Islands, Kiribati.
None of the people carrying out this project (niether in any of the three countries nor Australia) are involved in any way in buying, selling, trading or fishing sea cucumbers. The inference that this research is ripping off islanders is complete nonsense. You only need to check this project on the Australian Government website to see that it is part of Australia's Foriegn Aid programme (e.g. http://aciarblog.blogspot.com.au/2014/06/blueprint-for-brilliant-beche-de-mer.html). The project leader is employed as a full time Research Fellow with Southern Cross University, and has no financial interests in the sea cucumber industry.
The current project, that follows on from this Scoping Study, provides three main interventions to fishers in Tonga, Fiji and Kiribati: free training by way of workshops in their own villages, a free training manual and free training DVD. The manual is downloadable for free at: http://aciar.gov.au/publication/cop026. The research part of the project is assessing how these interventions impact on the livelihoods of the fishers and which ones were most helpful to them. Among a range of responses, the research will determine whether the training encouraged fishers to fish more or less, whether they gained more income from the sea cucumbers they sell as a result of the interventions, and how that money was used.
