California SeacucumberParastichopus californicus

Regional Food Web

Typical Coastal North Pacific

Ecosystem

P. californicus is found from

Baja Mexico to the Aleutian

Islands

Randall Davis

Marine Mammal Food Resource

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Sediment Bioturbation

Steve Ringman

Commercial and Subsistence Fisheries

Ecological and Societal

Global Fisheries

Over 300 Species of Sea Cucumbers are Harvested throughout the Globe

Fisheries Regions

bunnyclark.com Steve Ringman- Seattle Times

Fishing Methods

Trawl Nets SCUBA Diving

Regional Distribution

Range from the Aleutian Islands, AK to Baja California, Mexico at depths of 30 cm to 106 M

Kodiak, Alaska

Southeastern Alaska

Northern Washington

Southern California

Fisheries Concerns

Modified from Anderson et al. 2011

Regional fisheries have peaked and then

declined

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Sea Cucumber Processing

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Unprocessed Animals Cleaning

Cleaned Animals

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Commercial Products

Dried body wall Frozen muscle bands

Global Aquaculture

Sea cucumber aquaculture has developed globally

Alaska Aquaculture

Alutiiq Pride Shellfish Hatchery

Seward, AK

Alaska Aquaculture

Aquaculture Development

Larvae Tanks

Broodstock Tanks Juvenile Setting Tanks

Larvae Tanks

Life Cycle Description

Male and Females release gametes directly into the water

Fertilized eggs develop into a feeding larvae

within 5 days

Larvae feed in the water column on algae for 15-100 days

Larvae settle out onto the bottom as juveniles

Juveniles feed on sediment algae growing ~1mm a month

Reproductive at 4 years then spawn annually

The California Sea Cucumber

BASIC ECOLOGY:• Several color morphs exist throughout the habitat range

from the Aleutian Islands, AK to Baja California, Mexico

• Found at depths of 1ft (~30cm) to 350 ft (~106) in sandy to rocky habitats

• Feed on sediment algae

The California Sea Cucumber

BASIC ECOLOGY:

• Average size of 1ft (~30cm) and 11oz. (~300g)

• Reproductive at 4 years

• Unable to age from natural populations

• Adults move less then 6ft (2M) daily

Animal Collections

George’s Inlet, Ketchikan, AK (55°20'N, 131°28'W)

Animal Collections

Animals are shipped live in sea water filled plastic bags

and received within 12 hours of their collections

Adult Holding Tanks

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Several Adult Feeds

Tetraselmis sp.

Thalassiosira sp.

Feeding Ecology

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~15,000 cells/ml(Isochrysis spp.)

Heated ~18°C

Dilute Sperm

Within Tanks

Each feed tank was spawned every 48 hours for 4 weeks

Procedure Development

Procedure Development

Gonoduct pore naturally removes ~ 100% of

fertilization envelopes

oceanservice.noaa.gov

Animals are not sacrificed for spawning

Fertilization rates of 88-98%

“Natural Spawning”

Egg Collection

Fertilized Eggs were filtered through a 710µm mesh followed by a 47µm mesh

Fertilization occurs within 5 minutes

8 cell cleavage within 10-11 hours

64 cell cleavage within 16-17 hours

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Larval Algal Feed Cultures

Larvae Rearing

Larvae were maintained in 190L tanks with flow through sea water

Gastrula pre-feeding larvae within 3 days

Auricularia feeding larvae within 4 days

Auricularia continue to feed and grow

Juvenile Setting

Juvenile Setting

~ 20 days post hatching ~ 25 days post hatching

~ 35 days post hatching

Questions?