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Trial grow‐out culture of sea cucumber H olothuria scabra in sea cages and pens
Author(s) -
JuinioMeñez Marie Antonette,
Evangelio Julissah C,
Miralao Sasa James A
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
aquaculture research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.646
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1365-2109
pISSN - 1355-557X
DOI - 10.1111/are.12078
Subject(s) - sea cucumber , biology , biomass (ecology) , salinity , zoology , sexual maturity , fishery , ecology
Field trials were conducted to determine the effects of size, grow‐out period and site on the growth and survival of Holothuria scabra . Juveniles were reared in sea cages in two sites for 2 months during two different times of the year. Juveniles from Experiment 1 were subsequently grown in sea pens for 8 months in one site. The significantly lower survival particularly of the small‐sized group (<0.1 g) in Pilar is likely due to reduced water and sediment quality because of proximity to fish‐farming activities. The importance of grow‐out period was evident in the significant differences in weight increments in all size groups and biomass in the small‐sized group ( P < 0.10) in Lucero during Experiment 2 when water temperature range and incidence of rainfall were higher. The decrease in the average weight of adults during the second half of the grow‐out period may be due to the interplay of the reduction in salinity, onset of sexual maturity and biomass exceeding carrying capacity in the pens. The estimated biomass threshold in the sea cages and pens in Lucero were 300 g m −2 and 380 g m −2 respectively. Implications of the results on the viability of small‐scale pen grow‐out culture are discussed.