Detailed Explanation of Key Technical Points for Sea Cucumber Cage Culture

AbstractChoose a bay in a sea area little affected by external weather, with a water depth of more than 5 m and no pollution. For the cages, the 3 m specification is the most suitable, and the seawater temperature needs to be around 18°C. Select the source of seed sea cucumbers and put them in reasonably. Transportation is mainly short-distance transport by car, and the cages should be changed according to the different growth stages. Strip off the sea cucumber seedlings according to changes in water temperature, sell the sea cucumbers that have grown well before hibernation, and keep good watch over the sea cucumbers that have not grown well.

Sea cucumber is a tonic with health benefits. The sea cucumbers first used were all grown in the wild, that is, wild sea cucumbers. Because wild sea cucumbers grow under wild conditions, their living environment cannot be guaranteed, which leads to a longer growth period, and their output cannot meet people's needs either, so people accordingly proposed artificial culture of sea cucumbers. The most suitable way to culture them in sea areas is to use sea cucumber cages for culture. Cage culture technology requires dividing a suitable culture area in offshore waters and selecting suitable sea cucumber seedlings.

1. Choose a suitable sea area. Generally, a bay with a water depth of more than 5 m and relatively little influence from wind waves or tides should be chosen, and the bay's tidal current should be smooth, the water quality clean and pollution-free, and the bait abundant.

2. How to choose cages. Considering ease of operation, the cages should not be too deep; in general, choosing cages with a specification of about 3 m is more suitable.

3. Time to choose seed sea cucumbers. The seawater temperature determines the purchase time of seed sea cucumbers. When the seawater temperature is around 18°C, it is more suitable for culture. In some areas of northern China, the most suitable time to introduce seedlings for culture is from late May to the end of June.

4. How to choose the category of seed sea cucumbers. There are two choices of seed sea cucumbers, namely artificially cultured sea cucumbers and natural sea cucumbers. Generally, in the early stage of culture, artificially cultured sea cucumbers are chosen, and in the later stage, natural sea cucumbers are chosen.

5. Density of seed sea cucumbers. The stocking density of seed sea cucumbers is 0.5 per cubic meter; in general, it is 3-6 sea cucumbers.

6. How to transport seed sea cucumbers. Choose short-distance transport by car, with a travel time of 2 to 3 hours as suitable. Place plastic buckets with a capacity of 100 liters on the car, pour in seawater, put 30-40 sea cucumbers in each bucket, then cover the buckets and shade them with light-blocking cloth.

7. Choice of cage replacement. At the beginning, use 200-mesh cages. After the sea cucumbers grow into juveniles, use 60-mesh cages. When the sea cucumbers grow to 3 mm, replace them with 40-mesh cages. Finally, when the sea cucumbers grow to 20 mm, replace them with edible polyethylene netting.

8. Why the sea cucumber seedlings need to be stripped off. The juveniles need to be stripped off because the seawater temperature in the culture sea area is not constant, and the seawater temperature often fluctuates.

9. Handling during the overwintering season. Under marine conditions, the environment of cage culture cannot be controlled artificially, and the ambient temperature changes with the seasons. At the Start of Winter, sea cucumbers hibernate. At this time, the sea cucumbers that have already grown need to be sold, and the sea cucumbers that have not grown well need to be kept under good watch.