(Journal Online) The sea cucumber puti-an, scientifically known as Holothuria scabra, is currently an Endangered (EN) species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List because its population face a high risk of extinction in the wild. The risk is primarily attributed to overfishing because of its high value in the fishing trade.
The puti-an is one of the 1,250 known species of sea cucumbers that are related to starfish and sea urchins. All sea cucumbers are ocean dwellers, inhabiting both shallow and deep ocean. Commonly, they are gleaned in shallow seagrass beds or fished in deeper reefs by free- or compressor-diving.
Surprisingly, a rapid scanning conducted by the University of the Philippines Mindanao (UP Mindanao) researchers in September 2021 found the existence of the endangered puti-an at the beach area of the Aboitiz Cleanergy Park in Sitio Punta Dumalag, Matina Aplaya, Davao City. Back in 2015, the team also conducted a rapid scanning of the beach and the nearshore reef. However, the puti-an was not encountered inside the observation transects… Read More
