Friday, February 18, 2011

Sea cucumber aquaculture to deliver real benefits

Stocks of high-value sea cucumber species have been chronically over-exploited throughout the Asia-Pacific region, as elsewhere in the world. They are in great demand, not only for food but also for their reported medicinal and supposed aphrodisiac qualities, particularly among the Chinese.

Collected by divers in deep water and by women and children in the shallows, sea cucumbers are dried before being sold to traders. The market price for dried sea cucumber can top AU$200 a kilo, which makes them an important source of cash income for many poor and remote coastal communities throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

While better overall fisheries management is needed, for a small number of species, farming in ponds and sea-ranching promise to boost production, thereby taking the pressure off wild stocks so their numbers can be restored. Read more ...

This blog is written by Martin Little The Aquaculturists, published and supported by the International Aquafeed Magazine from Perendale Publishers.
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