Betting on Sea Cucumbers
It’s a beautiful day on a quiet beach in Vanuatu, and the topic over our picnic lunch is sea cucumbers. In fact, that’s been the topic all week. “I don’t think I’ve ever been able to talk about sea cucumbers this much in such a short period,” muses one BC+ partner excitedly, before launching into a new line of conversation about the hatching, rearing and harvesting of this prized commodity.
This is the BC+ Sea Cucumber Knowledge Exchange. Our group is a mix of farmers, conservation practitioners, and entrepreneurs all united in the goal to advance community-led aquaculture that supports livelihoods, food security, and thriving seagrass beds.
The workshop brought together practitioners, technical experts, and program partners working at the intersection of marine conservation, climate resilience, and sustainable seafood production.
Learning from Each Other
For BC+, sea cucumber farming is an important opportunity to meet our goals around seagrass restoration.
As bottom-feeders, sea cucumbers help recycle nutrients and improve sediment health in seagrass beds, which are critical for coastal protection, biodiversity, and carbon storage. Seagrass regenerates about 33% quicker when sea cucumbers are present and in return, sea cucumbers grow bigger and healthier in thriving seagrass beds. With all this in mind, BC+ is helping expand a market for sustainably harvested sandfish, supporting models where healthy ecosystems underpin profitable, community-owned businesses.
“We believe in you all and your models and your work,” said program director Christine McClung in an opening statement to the group, which included representatives from our sea cucumber partners: Vanuatu-based Aore Aquaculture; Zanzibar-based Asili Company; and Western Australia-based Tidal Moon. “Everyone here has something to contribute. We can learn so much from each other.”
“Fatter, happier sea cucumbers.”
We chose Vanuatu as our gathering spot because of the groundbreaking work being led by Derek French. As owner and founder of Aore Aquaculture, Derek has developed a cost-effective approach to hatching sandfish larvae, raising juveniles in an enclosed ranch and sustainably harvesting the fully grown specimens. He does all this in close partnership with three local communities and with the support of the Vanuatu government. The communities earn money by maintaining the ranch off the shores of their village and sustainably harvesting the sea cucumbers to be sold by Aore on global markets.
Derek’s goal is a simple one: “Fatter, happier sea cucumbers.” And what does a fat and happy sea cucumber want? Seagrass. All this, he says—the seagrass, the sea cucumbers—will help restore the ocean for his community and bring back the fisheries that once thrived here.
At several months old, juvenile sandfish can weigh around 2-5 grams. They can grow up to 350 grams as adults.
It’s a goal shared by Alexandra Garcin from Asili Company in Zanzibar, where they are building a regenerative, community-owned sea cucumber ranching industry through joint ventures with local cooperatives. “We built Asili Company around a core concept: ecological restoration and community prosperity are non-negotiable,” she says.
Lysa Wini, Pasifik Director of Nia Tero, adds: “The reason these places are the way they are is because Indigenous Peoples and traditional communities have built that knowledge for centuries.”
Michael Wear of Tidal Moon also sees the potential. An Indigenous leader in Shark Bay, Western Australia, Michael’s seen firsthand the deterioration of seagrass beds, and he’s committed to restoring them. “Sea cucumbers are the biological key to having an impact in this area,” he explains.
“The biggest challenge at Tidal Moon is creating something that no one has ever seen before,” he says. “You’re always going to have people who are skeptical but it’s up to us to prove what we’re doing is right and also scale it at the same time and make sure it benefits everyone.”
Sea cucumber farmers from Tidal Moon, Asili Company, and Aore Aquaculture are working together with BC+ to expand sustainable aquaculture that supports communities, sea grass and the climate.
“We can all grow this together.”
In fact, this is what sets BC+ apart. We are not here in Vanuatu just to accelerate these three businesses, but rather to accelerate the business model as a whole. By investing resources and expertise into Aore, Asili and Tidal Moon, we can help show what’s possible across the sector and the power of community-led, sustainable sea cucumber for restoring the world’s seagrass beds.
As Derek said, with tears in his eyes at the closing of our event: “We can all grow this together.”