Sea cucumber research and quality enhancement underway in eastern region

Trevor Taylor, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, today announced that the province is funding sea cucumber resource surveys and quality enhancement projects in the eastern region of the province.

"Resource surveys and quality enhancement initiatives will result in much-needed data for sea cucumber harvesters and will help grow this emerging industry," said Minister Taylor. "If the information gathered is as successful as we anticipate, then our province�s fishery could potentially bring new meaning to the expression �cool as a cucumber�."

The Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture is contributing $30,000 to a sea cucumber biological resource assessment and to underwater camera observations of habitat use. A number of harvesters have expressed an interest in understanding whether sea cucumbers are distributed in patches, or if they are somewhat evenly distributed over the ocean floor. This project will collect underwater video footage in conjunction with Roxanne bottom imaging to assess sea cucumber distributions. The initiative is cost-shared with the Marine Institute and the Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation (CCFI).

A total of $22,660 has also been awarded to a sea cucumber water loss and retention study. Sea cucumbers retain water when harvested, but when they are placed into the fish hold, they begin to slowly excrete the water. This reduces the weight of the animal and has a significant impact on the amount of product landed. The purpose of the study is to obtain reliable data on sea cucumber weight loss as it relates to at sea icing ratios for the purpose of establishing quotas, price determination, and production yields. The project will be coordinated in conjunction with the Marine Institute.

One of the provincial government�s priorities is economic growth and job creation, particularly in rural areas. Programming to diversify the fishing industry from its traditional dependence on groundfish is one innovative and creative approach. The funding supports areas such as quality enhancement, secondary processing, and market development.

Media contact: Alex Marland, Communications, (709) 729-3733

2004 07 09                                         9:40 a.m.