Sea cucumber, Isostichopus multifidus. (Photo: Inapesca)
New method allows more accurate sea cucumber measurement
MEXICO
Tuesday, June 24, 2014, 02:20 (GMT + 9)
A team of researchers from the National Fisheries Institute (INAPESCA) developed a new technique for the measurement of sea cucumber (Isostichopus multifidus) of the Yucatan Peninsula, which is expected to help improve the catch of this resource.
According to the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA), with this method the precision in the estimation of body weight and growth of the sea cucumber in its natural habitat will be improved, information that is really important for the fishery management.
The researcher of INAPESCA Regional Fisheries Research Center in Yucalpetén, Alicia Poot Salazar, explains that with this new technique during fieldwork only two steps are taken, without sacrificing the specimens.
As sea cucumbers shrink or stretch too much, it is difficult to measure its body shape and obtain reliable data to study its growth and development. To solve this problem, the technique developed by INAPESCA researchers, the square root of the length by the width of the sea cucumber is obtained, and the resulting figure shows the exact weight, SAGARPA stated.
In addition, in less time it is possible to know the available biomass of the resource and generate scientific support for its better use.
The sea cucumber lives on the seabed and it is very sensitive to environmental changes such as temperature, salinity, oxygen concentration and water transparency. Moreover, growth is also affected by red tides and hurricanes.
But the sea cucumber has developed strategies to cope with such circumstances, as the ability to enter a long dormancy period to survive.
Recent research revealed that the sea cucumber contains a high concentration of antioxidant proteins that allow it to survive in adverse conditions.
This resource has the ability to repopulate large areas of the seabed when it has food, but its low mobility makes it really vulnerable to capture.
By Analia Murias
[email protected]
www.seafood.media
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