Value Chain Analysis of the Sea Cucumber Fishing Industry in Sri Lanka

Suggested Bibliographic Reference: Challenging New Frontiers in the Global Seafood Sector: Proceedings of the Eighteenth Biennial Conference of the International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade, July 11-15, 2016. Compiled by Stefani J. Evers and Ann L. Shriver. International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade (IIFET), Corvallis, 2016.Proceedings of the Eighteenth Biennial Conference of the International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade, held July 11-15, 2016 at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Center (AECC), Aberdeen, Scotland, UK.The value chain for the sea cucumber fishing industry in Sri Lanka was analyzed using the data collected by interviewing the main actors of the chain from February to December 2014. Divers, buyers, processors and exporters are the main actors in the value chain. Divers are the key upstream players and exporters are the key downstream players. Around 3,500 divers engage in sea cucumber collection and about 6-7 hours takes per one fishing operation. High fuel costs, declining of the quantity of wild catch, lack of financial assistance and health problems are the main issues faced by divers. Buyers directly purchase the sea cucumber harvests from the divers and declining of catches and highly variable market price are the main obstacles faced by buyers. Evisceration, boiling, salting and drying are the major steps involved in sea cucumber processing and whole processing may take 3-7 days. Poor processing practices, high level of post-harvest losses (10 -12%), declining of sale prices and increasing of all input costs related to processing are the major threats to processors. Processed products are mainly exported to Singapore and Hong Kong and poor understanding of current market structure is the main drawback for profit maximization. It is suggested to develop standard processing protocols for each species, build up a direct relationship between key players in the value chain, improve product quality, develop efficient ways to get market and price information, implement minimum landing size for sea cucumbers and facilitate culture activities to upgrade the existing value chain