Ignored by our taste buds, shunned by our gastronomy, sea cucumbers are sold at high prices in Asia.
Called sea cucumbers on our coasts, these funny marine animals could also play a major role in aquaculture and in the service of the environment.
In Oléron (Charente-Maritime), ecologists from CAPENA (Center for Aquaculture, Fisheries and the Environment of Nouvelle-Aquitaine) have decided to carry out an unprecedented experiment which could ultimately benefit French shellfish farmers and fishermen.
Since last May, sea cucumbers have thus joined oysters and mussels in the clear oléronaises.
“We are looking for a species capable of feeding on faeces (droppings, Editor's note).
Sea cucumbers are one of them and could help improve the water quality in oyster beds, ”suggests Pierrick Barbier, CAPENA ecologist.
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This new ecosystem would be beneficial to all species, believes the researcher: "The equivalent of permaculture applied to aquaculture".
The breeding of sea cucumbers is also of real economic interest.
“Depending on the species, they sell for 100 to 400 euros per kilo in Asia.
And, sometimes, up to 1200 euros.
Faced with overconsumption, stocks are wasting away there.
And there is a huge correlation between the price and the length of a sea cucumber, ”summarizes the ecologist, referring to the aphrodisiac virtues attributed to this cousin of the starfish.
Aphrodisiac and anti-tumor virtues
Science is finally interested in sea cucumbers carrying potentially anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory molecules.
CAPENA has selected two species to conduct its “survival test”: a black sea cucumber common to the entire metropolitan coast and a tubular sea cucumber only present in the Mediterranean.
The second would have been better able to withstand the salinity and the changing temperatures of the clear, assures Pierrick Barbier who has decided to continue a new series of tests this winter with this Mediterranean cucumber.
“The first results are encouraging.
We now know that it can work here, in the clear, welcomes the ecologist.
Sea cucumbers could enable shellfish farmers to diversify in smart and environmentally resilient ways.
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