Preliminary feasibility study of cage culture of tropical sea cucumber Stichopus horrens in the wide

Stichopus horrens is a tropical sea cucumber with high economic value, widely distributed in South China Sea. Due to unreasonable commercial exploitation, the wild population of S.horrens has reduced sharply so its artificial propagation and aquaculture are urgent. New breakthrough had been made in artificial propagation of S.horrens; however, there is insufficient research on S.horrens aquaculture. We investigate the possibility of culturing and releasing tropical sea cucumber by releasing juveniles and adults in cages in 3 areas in harbour (A), nearby harbour (B), in lagoon (c) at Xisha Islands from 2010 to 2011, and regularly monitoring the survival and growth rate. The results reveal that both juveniles and adults of S.horrens can be cultured in cage in the wild. For the released adults cultured in cages with low density, all survived after 7 months, although their weight decreased slightly. Survival and growth rate of the adults in region A were higher than those in region C. The aquaculture of adults in area A was superior to that in area C. The bigger sized (about 3 cm) juveniles had higher survival and growth rate than the smaller ones (about 1.5 cm). In area A and B, the contents of nutrient salts in seawater and organic compounds in the sediment were higher than those in area C. Therefore, cage culture of S. horrens in the wild is feasible with suitable area and size.