From May 28 to June 5, 2004, sixty-three 400-m 2 stations were surveyed throughout the five municipality lagoon waters of Pohnpei Island to evaluate the densities and distribution of potential commercial holothurians. Thirty-eight per cent of the stations were con-centrated on the barrier-reef crest, 36.5%, on the back barrier reef platform, and 25.5% within the patch reefs/seaward portion of the fring-ing reef flat complex. A total of 12,806 individuals represented by six species were registered, equivalent to a mean density of 0.51 ind.m –2 . Holothuria atra composed 87.1% of the total number, followed by Stichopus chloronotus, with 5.0%, Actinopyga mauritiana, 4.5%, Holothuria edulis, 2.9%, Bohadschia sp., 0.4%, and Holothuria whitmaei, 0.1%, respectively. By municipalities, all species confound, Uh recorded the highest densities with 0.83 ind.m –2 , the lowest being Sokehs with 0.18 ind.m –2 . By physiographic zone, a contagious distribu-tion is observed, H. edulis being concentrated within the fringing/patch reef complex, while A. mauritiana occurs mainly on the barrier-reef crest, most frequently at Nett, constituting 25.6% of the 1,958 individu-als surveyed there. S. chloronotus and H. atra have representatives in all three defined physiographic zones. The estimated standing crops are 15,000 mt for H. atra, a little over 900 mt for H. edulis, 339 mt and 244 mt, respectively, for S. chloronotus and A. mauritiana. Comparison between annual harvest potential, market prices and mean exploitable age permits one to estimate the gross revenue of a given species. Due to forecasted high annual harvest volumes, H. atra offers the best commer-cial potential. S. chloronotus and A. mauritiana, are commercially attractive mainly because of their relatively high commercial value. Management strategies are suggested and should be adopted before any commercial holothurian fishery is implemented.