Torres Strait fishermen Nodoro Mabo and John Tabo celebrate a lucrative sea cucumber harvesting season. Photo: Supplied.
In just three days, Torres Strait fishers have generated an estimated $700,000 for the local economy after harvesting a record number of sea cucumbers earlier this month.
The sea cucumber, also known as the beche-de-mer, is considered a luxury seafood product in the lucrative Asian markets, earning fishers up to $40 per kilogram at beach prices, before buyers exported the dried delicacy worldwide.
This year’s harvesting season ran from 3-5 March, during which fishers collected 19.22 tonnes of the high-value black teatfish species – just shy of the season’s 22t catch limit.
John Tabo, a local commercial fisherman and Kemer Kemer Meriam representative for the region’s hand collectables fisheries group, said the beche-de-mer industry was one of the highest earning fisheries in the Torres Strait region for locals.
“The black teatfish opening date was set at the right tides and time,” Mr Tabo said.
“Plenty of fishers look forward to the season opening – it benefits everybody in the whole community.”
In 2023, the region’s beche-de-mer fishery reopened after a 20-year closure to support regeneration of black teatfish and increase stock levels, so the species could be harvested sustainably, and in accordance with strict minimum size limits.
Most of the region’s beche-de-mer are harvested from waters surrounding Mer, Erub and Ugar islands in the eastern Torres Strait.
Torres Strait Regional Authority Chairperson George Nona said the beche-de-mer industry and the black teatfish species were now thriving in the hands of First Nations fishers.
“The beche-de-mer fisheries, as part of the region’s hand collectables fisheries, is 100 per cent owned by Torres Strait Islanders and Aboriginal people,” he said.
“A successful fishing season goes beyond just dollar value; it has the power to uplift families and boost morale across every island in the Torres Strait – you can feel the pride across our communities.”
