Population monitoring of Holothuria scabra (sandfish) on Warrior Reef, Torres Strait 1998

The sandfish on Warrior Reef were surveyed at 50 sites from 14 to 17 January 1998. This showed that the abundance of Holothuria scabra (sandfish) on Warrior Reef in January 1998 was between 63% and 86% (95% CI, mean 77.5%) smaller than in November 1995. The H. scabra stock in November 1995 was considered as over-exploited, therefore this reduction indicates a serious depletion. Both the fishery (2+ years old) and recruiting (one year old) year-classes are depleted, the latter the result of a depleted breeding population, indicating a direct stock-recruitment relationship for H. scabra on Warrior Reef. This indicates that the fishery stock is in a downward spiral, with progressively smaller breeding populations leading to smaller and smaller recruitments. Severe management measures are required to avoid a total collapse of the stock.

1998年1月14日至17日，研究人员对勇士礁（Warrior Reef）海域的糙海参（Holothuria scabra，sandfish）开展了50个站位的调查。结果显示，1998年1月该海域糙海参的种群丰度较1995年11月下降了63%至86%（95%置信区间，均值为77.5%）。1995年11月的糙海参种群已被认定为过度捕捞，因此此次丰度下降表明种群出现了严重衰退。该海域的捕捞群体（2龄及以上个体）与补充群体（1龄个体）均已衰退，其中补充群体衰退源于繁殖种群规模下降，这表明勇士礁海域糙海参存在直接的种群-补充量关系。这意味着该渔业种群正处于下行螺旋状态：繁殖种群规模持续缩小，进而导致补充群体规模不断缩减。为避免种群彻底崩溃，亟需实施严格的管理措施。