CTAHR, SOEST, the Waikalua Loko Iʻa fishpond and Kauaʻi Sea Farms are working together to cultivate more sea cucumbers in Hawaiʻi © Andre Seale
The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa has secured a nearly $1.1 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to unlock reliable spawning techniques for a Native Hawaiian sea cucumber species, the warty sea cucumber (stichopus horrens).
The project aims to address a major barrier in developing sustainable aquaculture in Hawaiʻi and supporting traditional Hawaiian fishpond (loko iʻa) restoration efforts. The research is a partnership between UH’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR) and UH Sea Grant College Program (Hawaiʻi Sea Grant).
A growing global aquaculture market
Sea cucumbers, which are related to starfish, have a global market of nearly $1 billion, primarily as food and medicinal products. Overfishing has severely depleted them in the ocean. In Hawaiʻi, the lack of dependable methods for breeding local species has been the primary hurdle to commercial aquaculture of this marine animal.
“We plan to address key barriers to the controlled spawning of sea cucumbers in Hawaiʻi by focusing on protocols to induce egg development and spawning in captivity,” said Andre P. Seale, lead principal investigator, researcher and professor in CTAHR’s Department of Human Nutrition Food and Animal Sciences, in a press release.
The project integrates UH’s research and extension resources – which use university knowledge to create solutions in communities – with cultural and industry partners, including the Pacific American Foundation’s Waikalua Loko Iʻa fishpond and Kauaʻi Sea Farms. This combined effort is designed to rapidly advance research findings into reliable food production methods and conservation restocking.
This award builds on recent foundational research by the team that was published in General and Comparative Endocrinology. That research identified a protein that causes eggs to mature in the warty sea cucumber, providing the scientific framework for the current project.
