From May 28 to June 5, 2004, sixty-three 400-m2 stations
were surveyed throughout the five municipality lagoon waters of
Pohnpei Island to evaluate the densities and distribution of potential
commercial holothurians. Thirty-eight per cent of the stations were concentrated
on the barrier-reef crest, 36.5%, on the back barrier reef
platform, and 25.5% within the patch reefs/seaward portion of the fringing
reef flat complex. A total of 12,806 individuals represented by six
species were registered, equivalent to a mean density of 0.51 ind.m–2.
Holothuria atra composed 87.1% of the total number, followed by
Stichopus chloronotus, with 5.0%, Actinopyga mauritiana, 4.5%,
Holothuria edulis, 2.9%, Bohadschia sp., 0.4%, and Holothuria
whitmaei, 0.1%, respectively. By municipalities, all species confound,
Uh recorded the highest densities with 0.83 ind.m–2
, the lowest being
Sokehs with 0.18 ind.m–2. By physiographic zone, a contagious distribution
is observed, H. edulis being concentrated within the fringing/patch
reef complex, while A. mauritiana occurs mainly on the barrier-reef
crest, most frequently at Nett, constituting 25.6% of the 1,958 individuals
surveyed there. S. chloronotus and H. atra have representatives in all
three defined physiographic zones. The estimated standing crops are
15,000 mt for H. atra, a little over 900 mt for H. edulis, 339 mt and 244
mt, respectively, for S. chloronotus and A. mauritiana. Comparison
between annual harvest potential, market prices and mean exploitable
age permits one to estimate the gross revenue of a given species. Due to
forecasted high annual harvest volumes, H. atra offers the best commercial
potential. S. chloronotus and A. mauritiana, are commercially
attractive mainly because of their relatively high commercial value.
Management strategies are suggested and should be adopted before any
commercial holothurian fishery is implemented.