Sea Cucumber

TAXONOMY

Phylum: Echinodermata
Class: Holothuroidea
Order: Aspidochirota
Family: Stichopodidae

ECOLOGICAL DATA

Distribution: common and widespread along B.C. coast.

Habitat: most common on bedrock substrate in areas with little or no current where detritus accumulates; also live on gravel, sand or mud, often in eelgrass beds; planktonic larvae dispersed by currents; settled larvae and juveniles hide in dense mats of filamentous red algae, algae holdfasts, under rocks or in rock crevices; spawning occurs in shallow water, less than 16 m depth.

Tidal elevation: from extreme low tide level in intertidal to 90 m subtidal depth.

Food: deposit feeder; lives on organic matter and associated microorganisms.

Predators: sea stars Pycnopodia and Solaster prey on adults; numerous predators on larvae.

GROWTH RATE

Slow; 5 to 20 mm at 1 yr; 5-6 yr to reach sexual maturity; maximum size is 500 mm and lives to over 8 yr.

FISHERY

Since 1980 a small diving fishery has existed; major fishery in Georgia Strait and minor one along west coast of Vancouver Island; 1986 commercial catch was 3786 t valued at over $0.2 million; much of coast is under closure.

REFERENCES

Cameron, J.L., and P.V. Fankboner. 1984. Tentacle structure and feeding processes in life stages of the commercial sea cucumber Parastichopus californicus (Stimpson). J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 81: 193-209.

Cameron, J.L., and P.V. Fankboner. 1986. Reproductive biology of the commercial cucumber Parastichopus californicus (Stimpson) (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea). I. Reproductive periodicity and spawning behaviour. Can. J. Zool. 64: 168-175.

Cameron, J.L., and P.V. Fankboner. 1989. Reproductive biology of the commercial cucumber Parastichopus californicus (Stimpson) (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea). II. Observations on the ecology of development, recruitment, and the juvenile life stage. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 127: 43-67.

Cheney, D.P., and T.F. Mumford, Jr. 1986. Shellfish and seaweed harvests of Puget Sound. Wash. Sea Grant Program, Univ. Wash. Press, Seattle: 164 p.

McDaniel, N. 1982. The giant sea cucumber. Diver 8 (March): 26-27.

Mottet, M.G. 1976. The fishery biology and market preparation of sea cucumbers. Wash. Dep. Fish. Tech. Rep. 22: 44 p.

Sloan, N.A. 1986. Sea cucumber, p. 3-8. In G.S. Jamieson and K. Francis [ed.] Invertebrate and marine plant fishery resources of British Columbia. Can. Spec. Publ. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 91.

Sloan, N.A. 1986. Sea cucumber. Underwater World, Fish. Oceans Can., Ottawa: 4 p.