69 research outputs found
A guide to northern sea cucumbers: The biology and management of Cucumaria frondosa
This document synthesising knowledge on the northern sea cucumber Cucumaria frondosa was prepared for all stakeholders, including industry participants, government scientists, policymakers, and academic researchers. Its aim is to highlight the uniqueness of this marine resource to guide the industry forward and to emphasize areas that deserve further investigation. Available data from eastern and northern Canada, eastern United States of America, Greenland, northern Europe and the Russian Federation are presented. Topics covered include the taxonomy, distribution, biology, and ecology of the species, the natural threats it faces, the current harvesting, processing and marketing practices, and the prospects for aquaculture development. Relying on a knowledge base gathered over more than 40 years, this contribution compares C. frondosa with other common commercial species of sea cucumbers to tease out the major aspects that set it apart. A final section provides a number of key recommendations for its management and conservation
Evaluating sea cucumbers as extractive species for benthic bioremediation in mussel farms
Filter-feeding mussels blend suspended particles into faeces and pseudo-faeces enhancing organic matter flows between the water column and the bottom, and strengthening benthic-pelagic coupling. Inside operating farms, high bivalve densities in relatively confined areas result in an elevated rate of organic sinking to the seabed, which may cause a localized impact in the immediate surrounding. Deposit-feeding sea cucumbers are potentially optimal candidates to bioremediate mussel organic waste, due to their ability to process organic-enriched sediments impacted by aquaculture waste. However, although the feasibility of this polyculture has been investigated for a few Indo-Pacific species, little is known about Atlanto-Mediterranean species. Hence, for the first time, in the present study, we conducted a comparative investigation on the suitability of different Mediterranean sea cucumber species, to be reared in Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture (IMTA) with mussels. A pilot-scale experiment was accomplished operating within a mussel farm where two sea cucumbers species, Holothuria tubulosa and Holothuria polii, were caged beneath the long-line mussel farm of Mytilus galloprovincialis. After four months, H. tubulosa showed high survivorship (94%) and positive somatic growth (6.07%); conversely H. polii showed negative growth (- 25.37%), although 92% of specimens survived. Furthermore, sea cucumber growth was size-dependent. In fact, smaller individuals, independently from the species, grew significantly faster than larger ones. These results evidenced a clear difference in the suitability of the two sea cucumber species for IMTA with M. galloprovincialis, probably due to their different trophic ecology (feeding specialization on different microhabitats, i.e. different sediment layers). Specifically, H. tubulosa seems to be an optimal candidate as extractive species both for polycultures production and waste bioremediation in M. galloprovincialis operating farms
Evaluating sea cucumbers as extractive species for benthic bioremediation in mussel farms
Filter-feeding mussels blend suspended particles into faeces and pseudo-faeces enhancing organic
matter flows between the water column and the bottom, and strengthening benthic-pelagic coupling.
Inside operating farms, high bivalve densities in relatively confined areas result in an elevated rate
of organic sinking to the seabed, which may cause a localized impact in the immediate surrounding.
Deposit-feeding sea cucumbers are potentially optimal candidates to bioremediate mussel organic
waste, due to their ability to process organic-enriched sediments impacted by aquaculture waste.
However, although the feasibility of this polyculture has been investigated for a few Indo-Pacific
species, little is known about Atlanto-Mediterranean species. Hence, for the first time, in the present
study, we conducted a comparative investigation on the suitability of different Mediterranean sea
cucumber species, to be reared in Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture (IMTA) with mussels. A pilotscale experiment was accomplished operating within a mussel farm where two sea cucumbers species,
Holothuria tubulosa and Holothuria polii, were caged beneath the long-line mussel farm of Mytilus
galloprovincialis. After four months, H. tubulosa showed high survivorship (94%) and positive somatic
growth (6.07%); conversely H. polii showed negative growth (− 25.37%), although 92% of specimens
survived. Furthermore, sea cucumber growth was size-dependent. In fact, smaller individuals,
independently from the species, grew significantly faster than larger ones. These results evidenced a
clear difference in the suitability of the two sea cucumber species for IMTA with M. galloprovincialis,
probably due to their different trophic ecology (feeding specialization on different microhabitats, i.e.
different sediment layers). Specifically, H. tubulosa seems to be an optimal candidate as extractive
species both for polycultures production and waste bioremediation in M. galloprovincialis operating farms
Effects of fishery protection on biometry and genetic structure of two target sea cucumber species from the Mediterranean Sea
Sea cucumber fisheries are now occurring
in most of the tropical areas of the world, having
expanded from its origin in the central Indo-Pacific.
Due to the overexploitation of these resources and the
increasing demand from Asian countries, new target
species from Mediterranean Sea and northeastern
Atlantic Ocean are being caught. The fishery effects
on biometry and genetic structure of two target species
(Holothuria polii and H. tubulosa) from Turkey, were
assessed. The heaviest and largest individuals of H.
polii were found into the non-fishery area of Kusadasi,
also showing the highest genetic diversity. Similar
pattern was detected in H. tubulosa, but only the
weight was significantly higher in the protected area.
However, the observed differences on the fishery
effects between species, could be explained considering
the different percentage of catches (80% for H.
polii and 20% for H. tubulosa)
Aquaculture Site-Selection and Marine Spatial Planning: The Roles of GIS-Based Tools and Models
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