Sea cucumbers could be suitable for farming - research

New Zealand sea cucumber. Photo / APN

New Zealand's sea cucumbers could make a lucrative trade on the international food market, new research shows.

Researcher Leo Zamora has been studying sea cucumbers for the past five years as part part of his PHD in Marine Science at Auckland University.

"They are the Houdinis of the marine world. They can escape through just about anything, so sea ranching in cages is not that easy. Also the larvae flows into the water column and away, so to keep a population in one place you have to have successful hatchery techniques," he said.

Through his research, Mr Zamora has unveiled new information about sea cucumbers - highly sought after around the world - and identified one species in New Zealand which could be suitable for farming.

"My cooking skills are not the best so I just boiled one up, it was pretty flavourless and the texture was unusual. But in Chinese cooking they are used dried and added to all kinds of dishes and they are supposed to just melt in your mouth. They are a delicacy in China and often served on special occasions like weddings."

Top species of sea cucumbers, after being dried, sell for about US$1000 (NZ$1155) per kilogram. New Zealand's species are thought to be worth around US$275 (NZ$318) per kg.

One hundred kg of fresh sea cucumber makes about 10kg of dried cucumber.

Mr Zamora's research also found sea cucumbers grew faster at lower temperatures. With sufficient food, the creatures could reach a commercially-harvestable size of 100 grams in 18 months, compared to 30 grams over the same period at higher temperatures.

Mussel farmers have expressed particular interest in farming sea cucumbers as they could be grown in the same environment as mussels at little extra cost.

"So you are growing two species for the price of one," he said.

Mr Zamora graduates with his PHD from Auckland University tomorrow. The Chilean-native completed his studies on scholarship. He wants to work in New Zealand for the next two years.