Trial breeding of 3,000 sand sea cucumbers in Quy Nhon City, with export price of 200-400 USD/kg, potential for expansion for export and pharmaceutical production.
The pilot project of commercial farming of sand sea cucumbers in Nhon Hai commune was carried out by the Economic Department of Quy Nhon City and the Nhon Hai Aquatic Tourism Service Cooperative. More than 3,000 juveniles purchased from the National Center for Marine Breeding in the Central Region were released into the sea surface of 1,000 m2, surrounded by a net to protect the juvenile sea cucumbers from natural enemies.
After 3 months of farming, the sand sea cucumbers grew from 4-6 cm to 9-11 cm, and weighed from 6-7 grams to 81-107 grams. Mr. Nguyen Van Sang, who directly raised the sea cucumbers, said the care process was relatively simple and had little risk of disease. It is expected that by December, farmers will be able to harvest and sell the products. With export prices ranging from 200-400 USD (5-10 million VND) per kilogram of dried sea cucumbers, sea cucumber farming promises to bring high profits to farmers and promote local economic development.
The National Center for Marine Breeding in Central Vietnam under the Research Institute for Aquaculture III (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) is currently the only unit producing sand sea cucumber seeds. Dr. Nguyen Dinh Quang Duy, Deputy Director of the National Center for Marine Breeding in Central Vietnam, said that he has connected and formed a chain from seed production to purchasing, processing and exporting.
In the above mentioned chain, Vietnam Sea Cucumber Company - the owner of the largest sea cucumber processing factory in Southeast Asia, has committed to purchasing all products from local people at a fixed price, ensuring stable output and sustainable profits for farmers.
Dr. Duy assessed that the Nhon Hai sea area with ideal conditions such as calm waves and abundant natural food sources, creates a great environment for the development of sand sea cucumbers. Initial experimental farming results show that sand sea cucumbers grow very well. Compared to farming in ponds, farming at sea has lower costs thanks to taking advantage of the natural environment, minimizing care and management costs, even though the survival rate is low, it still brings profit.
"Sea farming only requires a 20% survival rate to be profitable," said Dr. Duy, adding that a similar model has been successful in Khanh Hoa and Phu Yen, so it can be applied in Binh Dinh thanks to the similarity of the sea in the South Central region. The biggest advantage for developing sand sea cucumber farming in Binh Dinh is that Vietnam has mastered the technology of seed production and perfected the process of commercial sand sea cucumber farming.
Leaders of the Quy Nhon City Economic Department also assessed that this model can be replicated in the future. In addition to the profit target, Nhon Hai Aquatic Tourism Service Cooperative is combining sea cucumber farming with marine ecotourism, creating a new economic model. This approach is consistent with the policy of the fisheries industry, with the orientation of reducing offshore fishing to change occupations.
Furthermore, sand sea cucumbers also open up great potential for the pharmaceutical industry in Binh Dinh. Pharmacist Nguyen Thi Hai Ly, Director of the Research and Development Center (Binh Dinh Pharmaceutical and Medical Equipment Joint Stock Company), said that she will consider including sea cucumbers in the research and development plan in the near future. Previously, the company had achieved significant success with the production of functional foods from oysters and shark cartilage.
Sand sea cucumber (Holothuria scabra) is a mollusk that lives in shallow coastal waters and has high nutritional value. Since ancient times, sea cucumber has been considered one of the "four great delicacies" of traditional oriental cuisine. Today, this species is used in medicine. Because its main food is organic detritus, sea cucumbers are raised in combination with other shrimp and fish species.
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