Oman Extends Sea Cucumber Fishing Ban to Protect Marine Biodiversity

Oman has extended its sea cucumber fishing ban until 2030 to protect the overexploited Holothurian scabra species and allow stocks to recover. The ban, announced by Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Water Resources Saud bin Hamoud Habisi, also prohibits the buying, selling, transporting, storing, and exporting of sea cucumbers as part of a broader effort to restore marine biodiversity.

Research by Sultan Qaboos University revealed a drastic decline in sea cucumber populations, with densities dropping to fewer than one per hectare and smaller specimens found near populated areas-clear signs of overfishing. Oman’s latest move marks the fifth extension of restrictions since 2018, when the government began implementing tighter controls following years of unsustainable harvesting.

Globally, sea cucumber populations face similar threats. In the Seychelles, numbers have dropped 30 percent since 2004, with some species nearing collapse. While international efforts to list sea cucumbers under CITES Appendix II have met resistance from major trading nations, Oman’s decisive action demonstrates strong leadership in marine conservation and sustainable fisheries management.

Species-specific fishing moratoriums are a relatively rare but effective conservation tool where stock assessments show critical decline. Sea cucumber populations have collapsed across multiple ocean regions - including the Seychelles decline noted in the report - driven by demand from Asian markets where the species is a high-value delicacy. Oman's decisive multi-year extension provides the biological time necessary for stock recovery.

The comprehensive nature of the ban - covering fishing, buying, selling, transporting, storing and exporting - closes the enforcement gaps that often undermine species-protection regimes. Combined with parallel efforts to list sea cucumbers under CITES Appendix II, national-level bans of this rigour create the regulatory architecture that can shift market dynamics globally, even where international agreement remains difficult.

For seafood buyers, aquaculture operators, retailers and their financiers, Cognitud's nature-based solutions, sustainability due diligence and supply chain and operations teams help clients evaluate supply-chain exposure to species-specific fishing restrictions, structure sourcing standards aligned with CITES and IUCN Red List trajectories, and disclose progress against SBTN and TNFD frameworks that increasingly require quantified biodiversity impact and dependency assessment across marine value chains.