The start of the 2024-25 Alaska sea cucumber season and the discovery of ten sea cucumbers in the Netherlands hold much for UK’s invertebrates’ imports.
Alaska, one of the biggest sea cucumber sources in the world, began its harvest on October 7, 2024.
Alaskans aim to harvest some 1.76 million pounds of the critters, slightly above the 1.67 million pounds of the 2023-24 season.
In its part, the new discovery near Schouwen-Duiveland, southwest Netherlands is significant as it signals a migration trend from the Mediterranean.
Indeed, scientists at the University of Wageningen confirm that this is the first time the brown sea cucumbers have ventured into Dutch waters.
They are medium-sized at 15 cm long and 3 cm broad, in comparison with other species which average 23 to 40 cm long.
UK’s Seafood Import Profile
In theory, the two developments have no direct impact on British imports because the UK has its native sea cucumbers. However, they could boost the country’s seafood import demand.
According to the UK government, some of its seafood imports come from Northwest Europe, a region that includes the Netherlands.
In the fiscal year 2023, the UK imported 609,619 tonnes of seafood worth £3.45 billion, a decline of 5.3% from the previous year.
United States and the Netherlands Key Source of Invertebrates
In 2022, the Netherlands and the United States ranked 3rd and 9th respectively as the sources of UK-bound invertebrates (including frozen sea cucumbers).
While the Netherlands supplied 6,000 kg of sea invertebrates to the UK, the United States delivered 1,000 kg.
Thus, Alaska’s new sea cucumber season and the discovery of the creatures in Holland bode well for UK invertebrate imports. To learn more about the UK sea cucumber industry, read on the following statistics.
UK Sea Cucumber Statistics
Sea cucumbers come from many countries in southeast Asia, Africa, North America, the Mediterranean and Northwest Europe, including the UK and Iceland. Around 90 nations participate in the trade of these high value invertebrates, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). 20 species lead in trade among some 84 commercial species around the world, both at sea and in industrial aquaculture. The UK has at least one of these species, in Scottish waters.
Does the UK have a native sea cucumber species?
According to the Marine Life Information Network (MarLIN), the British Isles are home to Cucumaria frondosa that lives in Shetlands Islands, off Scotland. The spherical, dark brown-bodied sea cucumber can attain a full size of 50 cm long.
How much sea cucumbers does the UK export?
In 2019, the UK exported 3,000 kg of frozen sea cucumbers, all of the volume to Spain.
Which countries and regions produce most sea cucumbers?
With a worldwide production of sea cucumbers at 24,482 tonnes in 2010, Africa led production by region at 1,917 tonnes while Asia-Pacific followed at 816 tonnes. Madagascar led country-based production in 2010 with 710 tonnes, followed by the Maldives (627 tonnes), Sri Lanka (425 tonnes) and Indonesia (391 tonnes).