Current Knowledge on the Biology, Ecology, and Commercial Exploitation of the Sea Cucumber Cucumaria frondosa

Abstract

The demand and high market price for sea cucumber has led to the collapse of wild stocks for many traditional species in Asia and the Indo-Pacific. New species have therefore been introduced to the markets over recent decades, including Cucumaria frondosa. A fishery for C. frondosa emerged in the USA in the 1980s and quickly developed in Iceland, Canada and Russia. Commercial products include frozen and dry body wall (beche-de-mer), frozen muscle bands, dry aquapharyngeal bulb (flower), along with various pharmaceutical and nutraceutical extracts. This species is also a candidate for aquaculture due to its high marketability for food and bioactive products. Despite its naturally high abundance, C. frondosa is a temperate-polar slow-growing species with annual spawning; therefore, a precautionary approach must be taken to develop best practices for management of this resource. The present contribution reviews the biology, ecology, biochemical properties, harvesting and trade, and the potential aquaculture of C. frondosa. This comprehensive synthesis, including 10 theses, 197 scientific papers and 47 reports, aims to provide a framework for future research by highlighting areas of concern for academic studies, fishery management, and aquaculture of cold-water sea cucumber species.

Keywords:

• Holothuroid
• holothurian
• echinoderm
• fishery
• aquaculture
• life cycle

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank several industry partners for providing information, funding and logistical support over the years, which made fundamental and applied research on C. frondosa possible: Fogo Island Co-operative Society Ltd. (Phil Barnes, Ken Budden, Barry Payne), Quin-Sea Fisheries Ltd. (Bill Molloy, Edgar Coffey), Ocean Choice International (Carrey Bonnell, Gary Pike), Green Seafoods Ltd. (Mark and Jennifer Sheppard), and Sunrise Fish Farms (Laura C. Halfyard). We also want to thank Peter Collin (Coastside Bio, Maine, USA) for sharing photos and information, and Sandra Shumway and an anonymous reviewer for comments that helped improve this manuscript. Portions of this review and some of the authors were supported by the Research and Development Corporation (RDC) of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Canadian Center for Fisheries and Innovation (CCFI), the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture (DFA) of Newfoundland and Labrador, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), the Government of Nunavut, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI), through an award from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund. Finally, we thank the following individuals for direct or indirect contributions to this synthesis: Monette Dion, Eric Way, Lew Barrett, Paul Winger, Scott Grant, Robert Trenholm, Justin So, Mike Graham, Guillaume Caulier, Heather Penney, Tiffany Small, Janet Ferguson-Roberts, Justine Ammendolia, Katie Verkaik, Emily Doncaster, David Ross, and likely many other colleagues, partners and students, whom we hope will forgive our oversight.

Disclosure statement

We declare no conflict of interest.