Challenging “boom and bust” market pressures:
Development of self-managed sea cucumber conservation in
Rishiri Island, Hokkaido, Japan
Akamine Jun
School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nagoya City University, 1 Yamanohata, Mizuho-cho, Mizuho-ku,
Nagoya City, 467-8501, Japan

Wildlife Conservation SocietyBiosphere Conservation 9 (2) : 1−12, 2009

Challenging “boom and bust” market pressures:
Development of self-managed sea cucumber conservation in
Rishiri Island, Hokkaido, Japan
Akamine Jun
School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nagoya City University, 1 Yamanohata, Mizuho-cho, Mizuho-ku,
Nagoya City, 467-8501, Japan

Abstract The rapid expansion of the dried sea cucumber market since the late 1980s has created a serious
conservation issue worldwide. In fact, since 2002 sustainable use versus protection of sea cucumbers has been
hotly debated at CITES meetings. In order to better understand the issue, this paper first explores the historicaldevelopment of “sea cucumber foodways” in Asia. Only a few spiky sea cucumbers, among the 40 commercially traded species, are currently highly appreciated by Chinese gourmets. The second part of the paper introduces case studies of communal resource management based on my fieldwork on Rishiri Island, northernmost
Japan, where the most expensive sea cucumbers with sharpest spikes in the world are harvested. In particular, I
have focussed on: how the Rishiri sea cucumber fishery began, how a quality branding was achieved, and how
resources are managed. Competing with strong market pressures and poaching, the fishermen of Rishiri Island
have developed self-managed communal rules resulting from the exchange of ideas and practices with othersocieties.
Key words: sea cucumber conservation, CITES, foodways in Asia, communal resource management, selfregulation, collaboration with trading sectors

INTRODUCTION
The global market for dried sea cucumber expanded during the late 1980s and this led to serious
conservation issues worldwide. One of the most notorious examples comes from the Galapagos Islands

tober 1994, the ban was put in place again, but local
fishermen violently protested against the ban in early
1995, which triggered international debate on how
to conserve sea cucumbers (Stone 1995, Verrall
1995, MacFarland and Cifuentes 1996, Jenkins andMulliken 1999, Ferber 2000, Bremner and Perez

in Ecuador (Stutz 1995). Fishermen not only overexploited the endemic sea cucumber Isostichopus
fuscus, but also they developed land on the protectedpristine islands for processing them. Mangrove trees

2002, Edgar et al. 2004, Shepherd et al. 2004, Hearn
et al. 2005).
The international debate was formally opened
when the U.S. Government proposed the possibility

were cut for cooking fuel, destroying the habitat forthe most endangered of the Darwins’ finches (Camhi

of CITES Appendix II listing of sea cucumbers at
the CoP12 in 2002 (U.S.A. 2002, Bruckner et al.
2003, Bruckner 2006). As a maritime ethnologist

1995). Furthermore, ships with livestock and domestic animals anchored close to these protected islands
accidentally introduced non-native species such as
rats, ants and cockroaches (Powell and Gibbs 1995).

working among the sea cucumber fishing communities in Southeast Asia and Japan (Akamine 2001,
2002, 2005), I was invited to several workshops andmeetings focused exclusively on sea cucumber management. The participants not only admitted theirlack of scientific data for designing a resource man-

As a consequence, the Ecuadorian government
banned sea cucumber fisheries in August 1992. Aftera short experimental re-opening of the fishery in Oc-

1

Biosphere Conservation 9 (2), 2009

agement plan, but they also agreed on the necessity
to evaluate the socio-economic and cultural back-part of the paper considers the significance of promoting self-regulated resource management at the

ground of sea cucumber fisheries and livelihoods ofcoastal fishing communities (Lovatelli et al. 2004,
CITES 2007). Since dietary culture or so called

community level by presenting a case study of driedsea cucumber production in Hokkaido.

foodways, affects production and the market, it isnecessary to look deeply into dining habits and values (Conand 2001, 2006).
For this reason I will provide a rather narrative

DEVELOPEMNT OF SEA
CUCUMBER FOODWAYS

and ethnographic description in order to understandthe socio-cultural aspects of the sea cucumber fisher-

Currently, the use of sea cucumbers in cooking islimited to the Chinese food diaspora. This includes
China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore, as well

ies and their historical development. In this paper, I
first explore what Chinese “sea cucumber foodways”
are and explain how the recent foodways in Hong
Kong and southern China affect sea cucumber fisheries and production. Among the 30 to 40 species ofcommercially-traded sea cucumbers in the world,
only a few kinds of spiky sea cucumbers havegained in popularity in recent years. The Galapagos
species has noticeable spikes, and this may be one
reason its price has increased. Moreover, the Japanese common species, Stichopus japonicus, is mostappreciated among the spiked species. Focusing on
the utilization of this particular species, the second

as Korea, Japan, and populations of overseas Chinese living in a wide range of countries include
Southeast Asia, the U.S.A, Canada, and Australia.
Among the dominant sea cucumber markets in Asia,
Hong Kong is the largest importer, though nearly 70
percent of its total imports are re-exported, with
China being the largest outlet (Ferdouse 2004). For
example, in 2006 Hong Kong imported 4,180 metrictons of dried sea cucumber (19.1 billion yen equivalent) from at least 54 countries and regions (Figure1).
Although Chinese cooking boasts a long history,
the use of dried sea cucumber in China began to

8,000

volume350.00mean value

7,000

300.00250.00200.004,000
150.003,000
100.00
2,000
1,000

50.00

0

0.00

Figure 1. Dried sea cucumber imports into Hong Kong 1992-2006.

2

HKD/kg

5,000

19
92
19
93
19
94
19
95
19
96
19
97
19
98
19
99
20
00
20
01
20
02
20
03
20
04
20
05
20
06

MT

6,000

Biosphere Conservation 9 (2), 2009

spread only between the end of the 16th century andthe beginning of the 17th century (Dai 2002). In Chi-

placed in the center of a round table. It makes sensethat these differences in serving style are behind thehigher demand for small sea cucumbers in Beijing
style cooking and large sea cucumbers in Cantonese

nese literature, the first reference to the medicinal
qualities of dried sea cucumber was recorded in
1602 in Wuzazu, which stated that “sea cucumbers(hai-shen in Chinese, meaning literally sea-ginseng)cooking.
Like fashion, however, different foods go in andout of style. Cantonese sea cucumber dishes are now

can be found in the coastal area of Liaodong…theyrival ginseng in warming the body and replenishing
the blood, hence their name” (Xie 1998). Later, during the 18th and 19th centuries, sea cucumber dishes
gained explosive popularity in the imperial court.
The Chinese classify sea cucumbers into twobeing served Beijing style in small dishes. Rather
than cutting up the larger H. fuscogilva into small
servings, Cantonese chefs are using the smaller S.
japonicus. This new movement in Canton style is
known as nouvelle chinoise. A sharp rise in Hong
Kong’s imports of Japanese sea cucumbers after
2001 (See Figure 2) supports this view. The recent
price hike in Japan, especially in Hokkaido, is probably attributable to this trend that occurred in Hong
Kong (Akamine 2007).
There is no scientific reason available, but it iswell known among traders and consumers thatamong the sea cucumbers harvested in the Japanesearchipelago, the ones which inhabit the northern waters, for example those in Hokkaido and Aomori,
have sharper spikes than those that inhabit the western part of the Japanese archipelago. The Hong
Kong market traditionally classifies the former as
guandong-shen (eastern variety) and the latter as
guanxi-shen (western variety). Guandong-shen prices almost double compared to guanxi-shen when it

types depending on their shape. Just as described in
the section on sea cucumbers in Bencao Gangmu
Shiyi, compiled in 1765, the Chinese call sea cucumbers with spikes “ci-shen” (spiky sea cucumber) andthose without “guang-shen” (shiny sea cucumber)(Zhao 1971). “Spikes” actually refer to the parapodia lining a sea cucumber’s back and sides that harden when dried.
There are some morphological and ecological differences between ci-shen and guang-shen. Generally
speaking, ci-shen are slim and small but guang-shen
are meaty and large. Ci-shen are most common
among temperate sea cucumbers while guang-shen
are more typical among tropical ones.
Chinese cooking is largely divided into Beijing,
Shanghai, Sichuan, and Canton cuisines. The regional differences, however, are most pronounced

is exported from Japan. Export prices of dried sea
cucumber in 2007 varied from ¥30,000 per kilogram
for the western variety, to ¥40,000 per kilogram for
the Aomori variety, and as much as ¥50,000 per ki-

between Beijing and Canton. Traditionally, the Beijing style uses the temperate S. japonicus, found in
the Bohai Sea and along the Korean, Japanese, andRussian maritime coasts, while the Cantonese prefer
the tropical Holothuria fuscogilva or H. scabra harvested in the Indian and the Pacific Oceans. Of

logram for the Hokkaido variety.
SEA CUCUMBER FISHERIES IN JAPANcourse, geographical location plays a part in these
preferences for the temperate one in the north andUnder the current Japanese Fisheries Law, originally enacted in 1949, coastal fisheries include sea

the tropical ones in the south. Although I won’t go
into detail here, each style also has distinct differences in cooking methods and seasoning. The majordifference relating to regional sea cucumber cuisine

cucumber fisheries. The purpose of the new fisheries
law was to modernize and democratize the fishingindustry along the lines of the agricultural land reforms that took place after World War II. There havebeen two distinctive, reputable achievements: the es-

is that the Pekinese prefer to serve food in small
dishes while the Cantonese use a large serving dish3

Biosphere Conservation 9 (2), 2009

45,000350
300

volumemean value

40,00035,000250

25,000150

20,000MT

200

Yen/kg30,00015,000100
10,000
50

5,000
0

19
92
19
93
19
94
19
95
19
96
19
97
19
98
19
99
20
00
20
01
20
02
20
03
20
04
20
05
20
06

0

Figure 2. Dried sea cucumber imports into Hong Kong from Japan (1992-2006).

prefectural governor for the use of fishing boats
weighing 15 tons minimum (Akamine 2004).
In addition, regional regulations, placed by the
FAC, control fishing seasons and equipment restrictions according to local conditions. Fishermen operate according to the fishing rules established by the
FCA to which they belong. Among the FCAs, a sea
cucumber fisheries unit (SFU) is organized and theunit members decide the details of each year’s operational plan including: fishing period, gear, total
amount of harvest, and size limits, everything regarding on resource management within the regional

tablishment of a decentralized supervised system
and recognition of common property rights.
The law stipulates that decision-making concerning important matters such as the fishery season andlicensing be administrated by the Fishery Adjustment Commissions (FACs). In principle, an FAC is
set up for each prefecture and is under the authorityof the prefectural governor. This sea-area becomes aunit for fishery management, and this is the reason
the central Fisheries Agency cannot directly regulate
resource management in each water.
The communal property rights are realized by a
combination of fishery rights and fishery license.
The fishery right, controlled by prefectural gover-regulations ordered by the FAC.
Authority has been decentralized so that the national Fisheries Agency cannot oversee local opera-

nors, allows certain fisheries to be operated exclusively in given waters. Only local Fisheries Cooper-

tions. Consequently, it is difficult for the national
government to intercede in resource management oreven in the poaching of sea cucumbers. Although thevarious regional FACs stipulate how and when to

ative Associations (FCAs) are eligible for the right.
In addition, certain types of fisheries may not operate without a fishery license issued by the prefectural
governor.
Sea cucumbers fall under either general fisheryrights or licensed fishing depending on type of thegear employed. The Fisheries Law places sea cucumbers under Type 1 common fishery rights, whichmeans that only fishermen are able to harvest them.

fish, actual practice is dependent on the self-regulation of local FCAs.
During March 2005, I conducted an interview
with Charlie Lim, the general secretary of the Sharkfin and Marine Products Association (SMPA) in
Hong Kong, an association that is composed ofwholesalers of dried sea cucumbers (see Table 1).

If dredge nets are used, a license is required from the4

Biosphere Conservation 9 (2), 2009

from Japan has become greater. Lim believed thatthe ultra small sea cucumbers were being fished inTable 1. Classification of Japanese Dired Sea Cucumbers among
the Hong Kong Wholesalers.

size
numbernumber of pieces
per 600g

weigt per piece(g)novice regions that had just entered into the driedsea cucumber business: “There’s a difference in the

1
2
3

20-30
30-40
40-50

20-30
15-20
12-15

4
5
6

50-60
60-70
70-80

10-12
8.6-107.5-8.6

precision of resource management between communities where sea cucumbers have been harvested fora long time and communities that have only recently
joined the market. We’re concerned about regulation

7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15

80-100100-120120-150
150-180
180-220220-250250-300
300-350
350-400

6.0-7.5
5.0-6.0
4.0-5.0
3.3-4.0
2.7-3.3
2.4-2.7
2.0-2.4
1.7-2.0
1.5-1.7in these newcomer areas.” He was apprehensive
about the current state of sea cucumber harvesting inJapan, and remarked that “the Japanese government
should take action and manage the resources.”
It is, however, impossible under the current system for the Fisheries Agency to directly oversee activities in regional waters. Note that two main chara c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e c u r r e n t F i s h e r i e s L a w,
decentralization of authority and establishment ofcommunal property rights are generally appreciated(Ruddle 1987, 1989, Feeny et al. 1990). The problem is that if FCA and its members are not interested
in sustainable use of their resources, they may easily
yield to “boom and bust” market pressures. Still, as
Lim also acknowledged, Japan has a long history of
local resource management; i.e. self-regulated practices by FCAs.

Source: Interview to Charlie Lim of SMPA in March 2005.

Lim explained that in Hong Kong, dried sea cucumbers from Japan are usually divided by size into fifteen different categories. Prior to about 2000, theregular size was an 8 or above (see Table 1), recently, however, sizes 7 to 11 are selling well, whilelarger dried sea cucumbers do poorly. Lim explainedthat this is because nouvelle chinoise cuisine has

THE EMERGENCE OF SEA CUCUMBERFISHERIES AROUND RISHIRI ISLAND
Of the four FCAs on Rishiri Island (Oshidomari,taken root in Hong Kong. Instead of cutting up large,
meaty sea cucumbers and presenting them in a large

Oniwaki, Semposhi, and Kutsugata), the Oniwaki
FCA in the southeast harvests the fewest sea cucum-

serving plate, which is the typical Cantonese serving
style, single sea cucumbers are served on small
plates, which is more in the Beijing style. If a large
sea cucumber is used for each plate, the cost per

century, the industry was revitalized only in the mid-plate is obviously higher. But if smaller sizes areused, for example 400 pieces of dried sea cucumbers

1980s with the introduction of dredge net fishing.
The following is an historical reconstruction of sea

per 600 grams batch, the cost per sea cucumber
would be just ¥140 even if the batch as a whole costs¥60,000.
Separate from this demand for smaller sea cucumbers in Hong Kong, however, Lim noted that the
proportion of smaller sea cucumbers being exported

cucumber fisheries in two FCAs: Oshidomari and
Semposhi.

bers. Although Rishiri Island has been known for its
sea cucumber fisheries since the latter half of the 18th

The Case of the Oshidomari Fisheries Cooperative Association (OFCA)

5

Biosphere Conservation 9 (2), 2009

Table 2. Sea cucumber production and sales at SFCA (1980-2007).

Dried Sea Cucumber

Fresh Sea Cucumber

Year

Weight (kg)Amount (Yen)average priceper kg

1980
1981
1982

29.0
300.0
60.0

110,015
1,155,936
178,000

3,794
3,853
2,967

1983
1984

72.7
0

474,790

6,531

1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002

0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0

2003
2004
2005
2006
2007

0
0
0
0
0

51,05250,02051,00053,95951,954Weight (kg)Amount (Yen)average priceper kg5,1622,825,000

547

16,00010,44730,37876,67658,556
68,97863,71936,30165,436
81,56075,70861,88852,39762,31150,73952,99950,25951,116

3,917,000
2,001,000
8,741,000
29,478,000
21,567,000
29,474,000
26,846,000
15,783,000
28,432,000
40,717,000
29,759,000
21,803,000
21,334,000
29,911,000
27,256,000
35,269,000
27,179,000
37,533,000

245
192
288
384
368
427
421
435
435
499
393
352
407
480
537
665
541
734

64,615,000
81,116,000
87,002,000
136,098,000
156,339,000

1,266
1,622
1,706
2,522
3,009

Source: SFCA Business Report.

Satoshi Yoshida (born in 1944) first became involved in sea cucumber harvesting in 1984 and be-

Yoshida has been the only one to do so consistently
over the years. As chair of the SFU of the OFCA un-

gan fishing in earnest with dredge nets the following
year in Oshidomari, Rishirifuji Town. He began selling fresh sea cucumbers in 2003, but until then had
dried all his harvested sea cucumbers at home. Of

til 2005, he is the leading expert on sea cucumber
fisheries in Oshidomari area.
When Yoshida was in his 30s, the fishing industryin Rishiri Island was booming, especially for tuna

the eleven members dredge net fishing in the Oshidomari Fisheries Cooperative Association (OFCA),

but also for sand lance Ammodytes spp., squid, andoctopus. Reflecting the boom, Rishiri Island was

6Biosphere Conservation 9 (2), 2009

featured in a 1981 NHK program called Shin Nihon
Kikou, or “The New Japan Travels,” when it was not

Unlike machine drying used today, sea cucumbers
used to be dried naturally in the sun. As Yoshida’s

uncommon for a fisherman to make one million yen
in a single day. Yoshida has kept the back fin of a267 kilogram blue fin tuna he once caught using

wife recalled in our interview in April 2006, “Seacucumbers are just too hard on the body. Of all thedifferent work I’ve done, sea cucumbers were thehardest.” “You have to stay outside all day for sea

only a hook and line. The sand lance frenzy was due
in part to the 200 nautical mile exclusive economic
zones implemented by the U.S.A. and the U.S.S.R.

cucumbers while kelp is done in one or two hours,”and “once kelp is dry all you have to do is put it instorage, but with sea cucumbers, you have to dry it
all day, put it away if it starts to rain, and even if theweather cooperates, it still takes 20 days to dry.”
Furthermore, she spoke about the hardship of collecting seawater and cutting sagebrush for processing the sea cucumbers. “Even though it costs money,
we get freshwater if we just turn the tap. Seawater isfree, but we have to get it ourselves, and that’s noteasy and neither is getting sagebrush.” Today, sea
cucumbers are harvested in the spring and summer
before and after the no-fishing period from May 1stin 1977. Prices increased as buyers speculated on a
scarcity of sand lances as a result of the zoning. Of
course, there was no reason to labor over sea cucumbers at the time.
Suddenly though, perhaps because of changes in
the ocean currents, both tuna and sand lances
stopped coming north. With both tuna and sandlances gone, Yoshida had to turn to octopus and sea
cucumbers instead. He explained, “I was always
thinking about what was likely to make money.” He
knew that sea cucumbers used to be harvested in
Rishiri Island by small surfboats. When he heard
from adjoining FCAs that dried sea cucumbers were
fetching a good price, he “figured there would be resources since the area hadn’t been fished in years.”He learned how to process sea cucumbers from afriend Fukuda (pseudonym) who, originally from
Yoshida’s local area on Rishiri Island, then lived in
Wakkanai, a port city at the northern tip of the mainland of Hokkaido. With this shared homeland, Fukuda taught Yoshida everything he knew.
Out of eleven boats currently fishing for sea cu-

to June 15th established by the administration. Previously, sea cucumbers were only fished in the summer, when there was plenty of sagebrush available
used for smoking.
Although sagebrush “can be cut today and useduntil tomorrow,” sagebrush is no good if dry. Thus,
fishermen essentially have to cut it fresh each timethey return from the sea. Sagebrush grows naturally
all over Rishiri Island but people have to separate it

cumbers in OFCA in 2006, five or six boats had
started in the spring of 2004, and by the summer theout from other grasses that grow in the same places.
When sea cucumber fisheries open on June 16th, thesagebrush is still not very tall and consequently,
more of it needs to be cut. Without the sagebrush,

number had increased to ten. Octopus fishing had
been sluggish in the summer of 2003, and interests
shifted to sea cucumbers in the spring of 2004
around the same time that demand abroad was driv-

the sea cucumber cannot be dried correctly, and it
takes around 40 to 50 kilograms of sagebrush to process 100 to 150 kilos of sea cucumber. Fresh sagebrush is so heavy that if it is strapped to the back ofing prices up.
Yoshida explained to me, “There are eleven boats
operating now in OFCA because we don’t makea motorbike, the front end will tip up.
Yoshida’s routine was to fish for sea urchin in themorning, bring it home, and then set out again forsea cucumber dredging. His wife would peel the sea

dried sea cucumbers, and we sell them fresh instead.
If we had to dry them, the number of boats would be
cut in half. Anyone can make dried kelp, but sea cu-

urchins, go out to collect sagebrush and seawater,
and then keep a fire going until her husband camehome. First, they would boil a large pot filled withcumbers aren’t that easy. It’s smoky and it’s hot.”7

Biosphere Conservation 9 (2), 2009seawater, scrap iron, and sagebrush. Only iron pots
could be used because stainless pots would not

da was the first to revive his fishery to harvest sea
cucumbers when tuna and sand lance could no lon-change the color of the sea cucumbers into shining
black, which the market favoured. After thirty minutes, the water would turn dark and the iron scraps

ger be caught. He happened to pay attention to thesea cucumber because the neighbouring municipal
government launched a sea urchin transplanting

and sagebrush were removed. The sea cucumbers
were gutted and placed in the pot. After adding theiron scraps again, the sea cucumbers were simmeredproject as described below, and sea cucumbers werecaught as a by-catch of the project.
The Case of the Semposhi Fisheries Cooperative

for about 40 minutes and then smoked with sagebrush for approximately two hours. If Yoshida andhis wife cut down the smoking time to just one andhalf hours or so, the high-priced spikes fell off the

Association (SFCA)
The first reference to sea cucumbers in the Semposhi Fisheries Cooperative Association (SFCA)’sbusiness report was in 1980. The amounts and saleprices of dried sea cucumbers were recorded for four
years through 1983 (see Table 2). In 1984, however,the sales shifted to fresh sea cucumbers. The reason
for this switch was because “it took too much effort
for too little money.” The people of SFCA felt thatthe laborious effort required to process dried sea cucumber just described in the previous section was
simply not worth expending.
Although it is not exactly clear what triggered thestart of sea cucumber fisheries in 1980, the opportunity was indirectly presented through local government which supported the transplant and replenishmentof northern hard-spine sea urchin Strongylocentrotus
nudus populations. In the early 1970s, the Rishiri
Town Municipal Government launched a projecttransplanting northern hard-spine sea urchins living
in deep waters to shallower waters. The municipal

sea cucumbers. If the weather was bad, they had toextend the smoking time up to three hours.
To smoke the sea cucumbers, the sagebrush wasplaced in two layers, fresh on the bottom and boiled
on top. The sea cucumbers would burn if the flame
grew too strong, so the fire had to be watched constantly. During a two-hour smoking, the sea cucumbers would also have to be flipped from side to sideor stirred in a draining board five to six times so thatthe heat and smoke spread evenly. Mr and Mrs
Yoshida also recalled how the palms of their hands
hurt from having to turn the spiky sea cucumbers as
they dried in the sun all day. She described the sea
cucumber business as follows: “When it’s calm, theland is tired,” referring to the fact that if the seas
were friendly and fishing was good, it meant that she
had more work to do processing the sea cucumbers.
Aside from sea cucumber fishing itself, it is clearthat women played an essential role in the domestic
cottage industry of processing sea cucumbers.
Today, however, all four FCAs in Rishiri Island,
including OFCA, sell fresh sea cucumbers only anddo not process them at home. The main reason is a
shortage of labor, but another factor may be thatgovernment provided funding for dredge net boats tocatch sea urchins from 6 to 9 meter depths and transfer them to shallow-water coasts. Dredge nets madein Suttsu, southwestern coastal mainland Hokkaido,
were imported to Rishiri and copied by local iron-profits can only be made at the end of the year fordried sea cucumbers. As Yoshida recalled, “Bidding
usually happened in November and we didn’t collectworkers. However, the dredge net did not retain thesea urchin well, and in fact broke off their spines.
With each year, the shells of the sea urchins also be-

any money until around Christmas. Until then, we’dweigh our goods and dream about what we’d get forit compared to prices the year before.”This brief case study of OFCA reveals that Yoshi-

came smaller and smaller. What the nets did manage
to catch were more sea cucumbers than sea urchins.
The details of this project need further investigation, but it is certain that it opened the door to dredge

8Biosphere Conservation 9 (2), 2009

net fishing of sea cucumbers around Rishiri Island.
The SFCA’s report in 1980 reflected the first time

would bargain for cheaper prices. For example, supposing a yield rate of 3.5 percent, 130 grams of fresh

dried sea cucumber production was conducted on a
trial basis after the transfer project ended. Veteranfishermen in the SFCA taught sea cucumber drying

sea cucumber would become 4.5 grams of driedproduct and would be classified a size 9 (see Table1), which is at the very limit of sizes that sell at amethods to young members. Despite successful
catches though, the fishermen could not make ends
meet with dried sea cucumber. They switched toreasonable price. These marketing conditions led the
SFCA to return not only undersized sea cucumbers,
but also “anything damaged” to the sea for recovery.

selling raw sea cucumber in 1984 and continue to do
so today. This is the time when Yoshida hit on sea
cucumber fisheries.

Beginning in 2002, each boat collected these smallor damaged sea cucumbers and lined up each day toreturn them to the sea.
It is worth noting that upon establishment of the
SFU in SFCA, a weight limit was imposed in order
to conserve their resources. As discussed, however,
the market price for smaller sea cucumbers has now
increased because of recent demand from Hong
Kong and China. But the fishermen of SFCA seemto distrust the market and they stick to their self-regulated rule of 130 grams minimum size. This firm
position has to be understood in the following context.
When the SFCA started trading in fresh sea cucumber, one of the major marine product processing
plants in Hokkaido submitted several complaints. At
one point, they required the SFCA to make shipments using barrels that were labelled with the nameof the boat that made the catch. Although the SFCA
made an effort to retain moisture and shipped at aten percent premium, the buyers still complained
about poor quality and demanded a higher premium.
If they agreed, they knew that they would eventually

SEA CUCUMBER RESOURCEMANAGEMENT AT SFCA
Dredge net fishing of sea cucumbers by the SFCA
began in earnest in 1984 when sales turned to freshsea cucumber. The town of Rishiri issued financial
support, and dredge nets were made to order by seven or eight fishermen at iron factories outside Rishiri
Island because nobody knew how to make them atthat time.
It was not until 1988 that a SFU was officially established within the SFCA. At this time, resource
management was actively practiced and catches
were limited to sea cucumbers weighing at least 80
grams. In 1989, this weight limit was raised from 80
to 100 grams and sea cucumbers less than 10 centimeters in length were to be thrown back to sea. The
next year, in 1990, the bar was again raised to 130
grams. In 1999, the SFCA implemented a self-regulatory 50-ton limit to its total catch in the interest ofconserving resources. This number was arrived atface the same demands again from the buyers. Instead of raising the premium percentage, they negotiated with the buyers to resolve their complaints.
For example, both sides have agreed that water
should not be put in barrels and that sea cucumbers

roughly based on market conditions and the calculation that each of the SFU’s boats would be allowed
to catch 0.5 tons.
Although the SFCA has engaged only in the freshsea cucumber trade, almost all of the sea cucumbers
shipped to mainland Hokkaido are processed andshould be divided up at sea and then checked again
on land for size. One member of the SFU boasted
about nurturing the Semposhi brand, explaining, “It’sdried for export. In fact, the size and weight restrictions implemented by the SFU were based on thepremise that the sea cucumbers would ultimately be

not a matter of gains or losses. If you cheat, it comesback to you.”
Resource management by the SFU at the SFCA

dried. If the sea cucumbers were too small, buyers

was not limited just to size restrictions. In 2001, six

9Biosphere Conservation 9 (2), 2009were unable to fish even though conditions were fa-

members of the SFU and the SFCA’s sales representative went to observe the sea cucumber business invourable, the entire unit took the day off. They explain, “We have this organization to work together,”“The 50-ton limit is there so that everyone uses resources equally, otherwise, everyone would just op-

Aomori Prefecture. Unfortunately, sea cucumber
fishing grounds in Aomori were too shallow to becompared to Semposhi, where dredge nets wereerate on their own.”

dragged at depths of 60 to 70 meters. Moreover, Aomori at that time was focused on fresh food products
but not on dried products, so they kept small, soft

CONCLUSIONS

sea cucumbers and tossed large ones back to sea.
Still, the Semposhi fishermen were impressed thatthe town of Yokohama had standardized fishingequipment and regularly checked for violations.
As a result of their visit to Aomori, the SFU at the
SFCA was also inspired to re-examine the spawningperiod of sea cucumbers. Sea cucumber fishing isbanned in the Soya Sea Area, where Rishiri belongs
to, from May 1st to June 15th, which is believed to be

Together, the two case studies of OFCA and
SFCA illustrate sea cucumber fisheries and self-regulation in local communities. Although Rishiri Island is only one of many places in Japan where sea
cucumbers can be harvested, it is known for its
uniquely high quality within the particularly highquality market of Hokkaido because it has the sharpest spikes. While sea cucumber fisheries were introduced in the late 18th century, it was not until thethe spawning period. However, some fishermen,
based on their experiences, raised the possibility thatsea cucumbers in the area were actually reproducing
in July and August. These fishermen are currently
still appealing to Hokkaido Prefectural Government
to change the regulations related to fishing season
dates.
In addition to resource management, the SFU provides a kind of social assistance to other non-unit
members of the SFCA. Presently, there are eleven
dredge net fishing boats in SFCA. There were ten

mid-1980s that Rishiri Island became such an active
centre for sea cucumber fishing. Its success can be
attributed to the pride of local fishermen who havestriven to meet the insistent demands of buyers.
While the debate was divided and should be further investigated, another example of local self-management could be seen in the FCA’s attitude between
the FCA as a ruling body and the SFU as the subordinate regarding the issue of admitting new unit
members. It is an issue that is specific to sea cucumber dredge net fishing, as spoon-net fishing by smallboats until 2004, and the eleventh boat was added in2005 when the SFCA recommended that a novice
fisherman in his early 50s be included in the SFU
when the man made an appeal to the SFCA, stating

surfboats is open to all (for example, catch landingsof sea cucumber by spoon-net in SFCA were four
metric tons in 2006 and 2.5 metric tons in 2007).
Fishing in Rishiri Island has tended to concentratethat he needed money to support his three children.
Previously, the number of fishing boats had been un-

heavily on coastal resources such as kelp and sea urchin, both of which have developed strong commu-

restricted. The number of boats was limited to ten
only in 1999 at the same time that the 50-ton limit
on a total catch was implemented. The eleventh boat
was admitted in 2005 because the SFU felt an obligation to support a fellow cooperative member andnal identities that have also been applied to sea cucumbers as coastal marine products.
Self-management by local communities continues
by trial and error, which can be called adaptive management. Certainly, a prefectural government can doits part to respond quickly to proposals born fromexperience regarding changes to fishing regulations.
In addition, traders and wholesalers should pay re-because the price of sea cucumbers was on the rise.
During my fieldwork, one of the SFCA fishermenlost a family member. Since three SFU members living in the same district had to attend the funeral and10Biosphere Conservation 9 (2), 2009

spect to FCAs’ efforts and support their activities.
While the national Fisheries Agency is prohibited

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