This can explain why economic objectives were ranked relatively high by most managers. Overall, there were few cases in which commercial sea cucumber fisheries were being well managed and the fisheries with relatively healthy stocks were ones

with few commercial fishers or have been closed to export-oriented fishing. Many management agencies in PICs severely lack capacity for conventional stock assessments to estimate abundance PARP inhibitor and density of sea cucumber populations. This situation supports a modern realisation that the diagnosis should recognise opportunities and threats within the fishery using available science [12]. The managers used knowledge of the fishery in addition the six multi-disciplinary indicators to choose a rank of stock health. The fishery managers tended to diagnose their sea cucumber stocks in better health than a recent objective classification [24]. Based on recent population surveys showing sparse, or significantly impacted, stocks in six of the seven fisheries more-optimistically diagnosed fisheries [41], [48], [50], [51], [52] and [53], we argue that their diagnoses indicate a degree of optimistic bias. Indeed, such bias is common in other fisheries [54]. Thus, some objective measures of stock health (e.g.

ratio of high value species in exports) Enzalutamide should be used to moderate the subjectivity of fishery managers. Annual harvests of sea cucumbers have clearly been excessive in PICs using current, conventional, regulatory measures. Arguably, new management measures will be needed to turn the tide on over-exploitation. Simple sets of regulatory measures will be most easily implemented yet need to reduce annual captures and safeguard vulnerable species. Management solutions need to be tailored to small-scale fisheries in light of diagnoses [12] and [55]. Fisheries in a depleted state may need some years of fishery moratorium to recover populations to productive levels [31], [56] and [57].

Once stocks have recovered, a suite of regulatory measures will be needed to meet fisheries and conservation objectives [58]. The vast number of fishers [24] and lack of suitable frameworks of sea rights in many PICs [9] make rights-based approaches to fisheries [59], [60] and [61] intangible in the short term. Rights-based incentives are arguably click here insufficient in small-scale fisheries where poor fishers have few livelihood alternatives [62]. Exceptions where this could be developed are where customary marine tenure is strong (e.g. Solomon Islands) or where de facto rights over fishing grounds are recognised (e.g. French Polynesia). Gear restrictions and size limits were among the most commonly chosen regulatory measures and can be considered best-practice [31] and [32] despite certain compliance issues. However, gear restrictions and minimum size limits will only partially reduce annual catches.