page_title: Sea cucumber as food
section_title: Harvest
hierarchical_section_title: Sea cucumber as food / Harvest
caption_attribution_description: English: Dried sea cucumber
context_page_description: Sea cucumbers are marine animals of the class Holothuroidea. They are used in fresh or dried form in various cuisines. In some cultural contexts the sea cucumber is thought to have medicinal value.
  The creature and the food product are commonly known as bêche-de-mer in French, from Portuguese bicho do mar, trepang in Indonesian, namako in Japanese, balatan in Tagalog, loli in Hawaiian and "deniz patlicani" in Turkish. In Malay, it is known as the gamat.
  Most cultures in East and Southeast Asia regard sea cucumbers as a delicacy. A number of dishes are made with sea cucumber, and in most dishes it has a slippery texture. Common ingredients that go with sea cucumber dishes include winter melon, conpoy, kai-lan, shiitake mushroom, and Chinese cabbage.
  Many sea cucumber species are endangered and are at risk of overfishing due to their consumption.
context_section_description: Sea cucumbers destined for food are traditionally harvested by hand from small watercraft, a process called "trepanging" after the Indonesian  trepang. They are dried for preservation, and must be rehydrated by boiling and soaking in water for several days. They are mainly used as an ingredient in Chinese cuisine soups or stews.
  Many commercially important species of sea cucumber are harvested and dried for export for use in Chinese cuisine as 海参 (pinyin: hǎishēn). Some of the more commonly found species in markets include:
  Holothuria scabra (sandfish)
  Holothuria arguinensis
  Holothuria spinifera (brown sandfish)
  Holothuria fuscogilva (bat susu, white teatfish)
  Holothuria nobilis (black teatfish)
  Actinopyga mauritiana (spiny sea cucumber)
  Apostichopus japonicus (Japanese sea cucumber)
  Parastichopus californicus (giant California sea cucumber)
  Thelenota ananas (prickly redfish)
  Acaudina molpadioides
  Western Australia has sea cucumber fisheries from Exmouth to the border of the Northern Territory; almost all of the catch is sandfish (Holothuria scabra). The fishing of the various species known as bêche-de-mer is regulated by state and federal legislation.
  Five other species are targeted in the state's bêche-de-mer harvest, these are Holothuria nobilis (white teatfish), Holothuria whitmaei (black fish), Thelenota ananas (prickly redfish), Actinopyga echninitis (deep-water redfish), and Holothuria atra (lolly fish).
  In the far north of Queensland, Australia, sea cucumber are harvested from the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea. Targeted species include Holothuria noblis (white teatfish), Holothuria whitmaei (black teatfish) and H. scabra (sand fish). Divers are supplied air via hose or "hookah"  from the surface and collect their catch by hand, diving to depths of up to 40 m.
caption: Dried sea cucumbers
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