Cucumaria in Russian Waters of the Barents Sea: Biological Aspects and Aquaculture Potential

Abstract

Sea cucumbers are a popular luxury and delicacy food items in Asian markets. These echinoderms possess a wide range of bioactive substances that can be used to produce pharmaceutical products. Recent depletion of natural populations of sea cucumbers requires involving new objects both in commercial harvesting and aquaculture. The northern sea cucumber Cucumaria frondosa is the most abundant sea cucumber in the Barents Sea. In this paper, we summarized literature data on the biology of this polar species to evaluate its fishery and aquaculture potential in the area. This eurythermic sea cucumber is typically occurs at 20–100 m depth. Cucumaria mainly colonize rocky or pebbly bottoms. Their main food items are detritus, pellets, phytoplankton, and small planktonic crustaceans. Spawning is registered in February–May. The age of commercial specimens (body length 25–30 cm, wet weight 300–350 g) is 10 years. The most abundant stocks of C. frondosa are registered in the central and south-eastern parts of the sea. Due to the low growth rate of Cucumaria the most appropriate cultivation method for these holothurians is a combination of larval culture and sea ranching. Coastal sites of the Barents Sea merit all the criteria for sea ranching of Cucumaria, but the development of their extensive aquaculture requires significant investments with long pay-back periods.

Thyroid Hormones in Hemolymph of Red King Crabs from the Barents Sea

“…Recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a strategy for the development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation for the period through 2035. Opportunities include further development of the aquaculture sector [27]. Coastal sites of the Kola Peninsula have favorable environmental conditions for invertebrate aquaculture [27,52], but profitable aquaculture cannot be organized without excellent knowledge regarding the ecology and physiology of target organisms [39,53,54].…”

“…Opportunities include further development of the aquaculture sector [27]. Coastal sites of the Kola Peninsula have favorable environmental conditions for invertebrate aquaculture [27,52], but profitable aquaculture cannot be organized without excellent knowledge regarding the ecology and physiology of target organisms [39,53,54]. The red king crab is a slow-growing species reaching the commercial size of 150 mm carapace width (or 137 mm carapace length) after 10 years of growth.…”

“…In Russia, this fishery was initiated in 2004 and stock indices of Paralithodes camtschaticus fluctuated over subsequent years due to range extension of the crabs, overfishing, and climate change [19,20,23,24]. Annual landings have increased from 9187 metric tons in 2018 to 9836 t in 2019 and 10,820 t in 2020 [21,[25][26][27]. The total allowable catch for the 2021 fishery season was set at 11,815 t [25].…”

Coastal Mesozooplankton Assemblages during Spring Bloom in the Eastern Barents Sea

“…The high latitude ecosystems of the Arctic region are characterized by strong environmental seasonal and spatial variability. This is connected to high variability in recruitment of fish and shellfish stocks combined with strong biological interactions within relatively simple food webs [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]. The Barents Sea may be considered the transition zone between the boreal and true Arctic biogeographic regions.…”

Environmental Drivers of an Intertidal Bryozoan Community in the Barents Sea: A Case Study

“…Interactions of the cold Arctic and warm Atlantic waters is the main feature of the Barents Sea [ 1 ] making this large marine ecosystem the most productive shelf region of the Arctic [ 2 , 3 ] and supporting abundant stocks of fish and shellfish [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. The Barents Sea, like other Arctic regions, is being influenced by the effects of global warming and we are now witnessing significant shifts in the ecosystem components and processes including strong salinification of the upper Eurasian Basin, attendant reductions in stratification, and altered nutrient fluxes and primary production [ 7 , 8 , 9 ].…”