For the first time, American Samoa has banned the removal of sea cucumbers after fisheries officials reported reefs being stripped bare of the species. Over-fishing and illegal harvesting of sea cucumbers has been a problem in other Pacific Island nations for years, but has only recently occurred in America Samoa.

Governor Lolo Matalasi Moliga has placed a six-month moratorium on the removal of sea cucumbers in American Samoa and its Exclusive Economic Zone. Typically, Samoans would harvest sea cucumbers for personal use or to sell small amounts at local markets. Recently, the species has been removed at an alarming rate.

“But what we were seeing was thousands, thousands and thousands of sea cucumber just being removed from the reef. They were just removing everything, they were not leaving anything there,” said Alice Lawrence, a fisheries biologist with the department of marine and wildlife resources. “The Samoans are fishing it, but they were actually selling it, or there are some Asian businessmen who are actually buying it and the idea is that they are going to export it to Asia and sell it for a lot of money. It’s really a big commercial operation,” she added

The reason for the moratorium is due to a similar situation occurring in other parts of the region. In Tonga, a 10-year moratorium allowed sea cucumber levels to recover, but once lifted in 2008, people failed to utilize sustainable harvesting practices. Another ban was recommended in 2012, but political and community opposed it.

In American Samoa, the Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources is to study the sea cucumber count during the six-month moratorium and will formulate a plan for its sustainability. The Department is asking the public to report any sea cucumber removal.