Raising sand sea cucumbers is less risky and protects the environment

Since the Institute of Aquaculture Research III (Institute III) mastered the technology of seed production of sand sea cucumber, many ponds in the south-central region stocked with Vannamei shrimp and snails have been inefficient and abandoned.wild has focused on the rearing of Sand sea cucumbers switched.

Typically, many households in the agricultural area in Tan Son Village 1, Van Thang Township, Van Ninh (Khanh Hoa) District grow sand sea cucumber very effectively. These are ponds where white leg shrimp and snails are stored. However, since the long process of stocking has led to environmental degradation, stocking with white shrimp and snails is no longer effective.

Mr. Vo Van Thuan, a sand cucumber farmer in Tan Son 1 Village, said his family has moved to grow sand cucumbers for several years. Initially he only raised a small test area, found it effective, so he developed an area of ​​up to 2.5 hectares.

“Over the years of growing sand sea cucumbers, I have found that this object is easy to grow, does not need to invest in food, has little disease, has a survival rate of over 90%, and especially improves the good environment . Therefore, any agricultural area with degraded environment can release this species, both for high economic efficiency and environmental improvement,” Mr. Thuan said, adding, with an area of ​​5 ponds (each 5,000 m2). 5,000 seeds/pond, after 6-8 months of stocking he harvests approx. 2 tons of whole animals, which corresponds to 1-1.2 tons of pre-processed intestines. With an average selling price of about VND 200,000/kg (intestinal surgery), it makes hundreds of millions of dongs every year after expenses are deducted.

Besides farming, Mr. Thuan is now cultivating sand sea cucumbers to feed the surrounding farming households as they convert inefficient extensive aquaculture objects. Accordingly, a thuan receives seeds the size of 2-3 stools from Institute III, and then raises them up to 5-7 fertilizers to make available to farmers. From there, farmers only need to free up 2-3 months to harvest and can grow all year round. It is known that there are more than 15 ponds in the area of ​​Tan Son 1 village to date, each pond is 5,000 m2 and contains sand sea cucumber. Most of the farmers here think that raising sand sea cucumber is not only effective but also very good for improving the pond environment.

dr Nguyen Dinh Quang Duy, a sea cucumber expert from the Institute of Aquaculture Research III, said that currently, the cultivation areas from Binh Thuan Province to Quang Ngai Province will be very effective. Since these areas have stable salinity and temperature, it is very suitable for sea cucumbers to grow and develop. In addition, there are many lagoons and bays in the central region that are airtight, so sea cucumbers don’t wash away, eat a lot, and grow up quickly.

Building a national sea cucumber brand

In 2021, Institute III, together with the Vietnam Sea Cucumber Joint Stock Company and households in Van Ninh District and Ninh Hoa City, built a chain linking sand sea cucumbers. Accordingly, Institute III provides seeds, guides people to grow sea cucumbers, and then companies buy all the products for processing and export to countries like Singapore, China…

Le Thanh Nhan, general director of Vietnam Sea Ginseng Joint Stock Company, said that after 3 years of cooperation with households growing sand sea cucumbers in Van Ninh (Khanh Hoa) and Phu Yen district, farmers are making very high profits. Accordingly, the company provides the breeder with about 3,000 VND/animal and buys it after 6-8 months of breeding at a price of 28-30,000 VND/animal. According to the company’s estimate, after 3 years of joint production, the farmers have a 30-80% win rate.

In terms of development orientation, Vietnam Sea Cucumber Joint Stock Company aims to provide stable income and jobs for 3,500 sea cucumber farming fishermen households from now to 2025. Along with building the world’s first sea cucumber “capital” out of sand. Because currently, Institute III is considered the world leader in seed production technology and high-quality processed products, so it is very promising.

In addition, in July 2022, Vietnam Sea Cucumber Joint Stock Company completed the construction of the most advanced sea cucumber processing factory in Southeast Asia with an investment of USD 5 million and a capacity of 900 tons of commercial products per year. Therefore, the processed products can compete with the quality of Chinese high-end products.

“By 2025-2026, the company will build a national brand in the sea cucumber field. Simultaneously develop a series of instant sea cucumber products, functional foods and cosmetics. At the same time, by 2025, the company will create 70 million individuals of sea cucumbers with 3,500 hectares of cultivation areas, 90 million breeds, 45 hectares of hatcheries and jobs for about 3,500 households,” said Le Thanh Nhan, director of Vietnam Sea Ginseng Joint Stock Company.

In order to achieve the development goals and strategies, the Vietnam Sea Cucumber Joint Stock Company proposes that the authorities and functional agencies support the planning of seed production and strategic planting areas of 50-100 ha. Also, assist companies to remove obstacles and bring sand sea cucumbers to the clam group. This is because the diet between these two species differs, according to which the sand sea cucumber eats bottom humus while the mussel species eats algae. Therefore, if sand sea cucumbers are classified as molluscs, it will be very difficult to establish a breeding area. Also, it is necessary to remove sand sea cucumbers from the group of rare and valuable wild animals, since they are farmed species.