Crop Rotation Works In Sea Too

Models show that leaving sea cucumbers unharvested in some underwater zones for two years at a time stabilizes the overall population and actually increases yield for fishers. Cynthia Graber reports.   

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is a recognized way to keep soil and the food ecosystem healthy. Now, scientists are saying that rotation could be a useful tool—in the sea.

Researchers tracked a shallow-water, near-shore species used for food: . They’re easy to harvest and are fairly valuable. But those same attributes mean they’re . The practice has put some sea cucumber species at high risk of extinction, even in a relatively well-managed area, the Great Barrier Marine Park in Australia.

In 2004, authorities split the Great Barrier Reef into 154 zones, where each zone was fished only once every three years. Fishers rotate through the region. In computer models, the researchers ran through dozens of simulations of each zone, both before and after the divisions took place. The trials revealed that even with an identical and low-catch allowance in all cases, the sea cucumbers would recover more fully under the rotation strategy than by harvesting simultaneously  throughout the region. In fact, in trials that included rotations, the yield actually increased. The research is in the . [Éva Elizabeth Plagányi et al, ]

The scientists say their results suggest that such rotation might be beneficial in these kinds of shallow marine regions around the world, particularly for species that are in high demand. Because you should not eat your seed corn. Or your seed sea cucumbers.

—Cynthia Graber