Market value of flower teatfish ("pentard"): a highly exploited Indian Ocean holothuroid

The large sea cucumber Holothuria sp. (type “pentard”) is exploited extensively throughout the western Indian Ocean, yet little information exists on its market value at the distal end of the value chain. We collected data on prices and sizes of this species from 15 lots in 14 shops in Hong Kong and Guangzhou, China. This species was relatively common in the marketplace. Market values ranged from USD 44–273 kg-1 dried. Weight-tolength ratios were lower for pentard than white teatfish (H. fuscogilva), but only marginally so. Prices per piece increased dramatically as a function of product length, but the relationship was weak for price per kg. This market study verifies that pentard is highly valuable in Asian markets, and therefore is likely to be at high risk of overexploitation. Our results show that fishery income from harvests of pentard could be considerably higher in the long run by regulating catches to large-sized animals, using minimum legal size limits.