Communities of Malaita Outer Island (MOI) are calling on the Government of the Solomon Islands, through the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, to speed up the beche-de-mer (sea cucumber) management plan.
The call was issued following last week’s peaceful protest by grade five students of Pelau Primary School on MOI.
“Our call is for the Ministry of Fisheries to speed up the beche-de-mer management plan,” George Kaola, a grade five teacher who organized the protest said on behalf of the students and communities in an interview with this paper over the weekend.
He said, the protest demonstrated their disappointment to the ongoing illegal harvesting of the lucrative sea cumber commodity despite the closure of harvesting in early September.
According to the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) 1st September was the due date which means all buying, fishing and selling must come to an end.
But according to Kaola, the illegal harvesting is being undertaken on during the few weeks required to dry and pack the products.
The current buying price varies for different species. Chalkfish or golden sandfish is $1300 -$1500 a kilogram for A $300 – $350 a kg for curry fish $200 a kg for brown sandfish.
He said, it’s sad because local buyers’ price are different because they are dictated by their Chinese agents.
Because there is no seaweed farming it had forced many people on the island to fall for beche-de-mer illegal fishing because its their only money-making activity, he added.
Beche-de-mer is one of the lucrative marine products which got many rural Solomon Islanders engaging in the trade to earn an income.