1. California Seacucumber Parastichopus californicus

2. Regional Food Web Typical Coastal North Pacific Ecosystem P. californicus is found from Baja Mexico to the Aleutian Islands

3. Randall Davis Marine Mammal Food Resource asnailsodyssey.com Sediment Bioturbation Steve Ringman Commercial and Subsistence Fisheries Ecological and Societal

4. Global Fisheries Over 300 Species of Sea Cucumbers are Harvested throughout the Globe Fisheries Regions

5. bunnyclark.com Steve Ringman- Seattle Times Fishing Methods Trawl Nets SCUBA Diving

6. Regional Distribution Range from the Aleutian Islands, AK to Baja California, Mexico at depths of 30 cm to 106 M Kodiak, Alaska Southeastern Alaska Northern Washington Southern California

7. Fisheries Concerns Modified from Anderson et al. 2011 Regional fisheries have peaked and then declined

8. Steve Ringman- Seattle Times alibaba.com Sea Cucumber Processing juneauempire.com Unprocessed Animals Cleaning Cleaned Animals

9. clocktowertenants.com alibaba.com Commercial Products Dried body wall Frozen muscle bands

10. Global Aquaculture Sea cucumber aquaculture has developed globally

11. Alaska Aquaculture Alutiiq Pride Shellfish Hatchery Seward, AK

12. Alaska Aquaculture Aquaculture Development Larvae Tanks Broodstock Tanks Juvenile Setting Tanks Larvae Tanks

13. Life Cycle Description Male and Females release gametes directly into the water Fertilized eggs develop into a feeding larvae within 5 days Larvae feed in the water column on algae for 15-100 days Larvae settle out onto the bottom as juveniles Juveniles feed on sediment algae growing ~1mm a month Reproductive at 4 years then spawn annually

14. The California Sea Cucumber BASIC ECOLOGY: Several color morphs exist throughout the habitat range from the Aleutian Islands, AK to Baja California, Mexico Found at depths of 1ft (~30cm) to 350 ft (~106) in sandy to rocky habitats Feed on sediment algae

15. The California Sea Cucumber BASIC ECOLOGY: Average size of 1ft (~30cm) and 11oz. (~300g) Reproductive at 4 years Unable to age from natural populations Adults move less then 6ft (2M) daily

16. Animal Collections George’s Inlet, Ketchikan, AK (55°20'N, 131°28'W)

17. Animal Collections Animals are shipped live in sea water filled plastic bags and received within 12 hours of their collections

18. Adult Holding Tanks

19. aquafauna.com Several Adult Feeds Tetraselmis sp. Thalassiosira sp.

20. Feeding Ecology asnailsodyssey.com corbisimages.com

21. ~15,000 cells/ml (Isochrysis spp.) Heated ~18°C Dilute Sperm Within Tanks Each feed tank was spawned every 48 hours for 4 weeks Procedure Development

22. Gonoduct pore naturally removes ~ 100% of fertilization envelopes oceanservice.noaa.gov Animals are not sacrificed for spawning Fertilization rates of 88-98% “Natural Spawning”

23. Egg Collection Fertilized Eggs were filtered through a 710µm mesh followed by a 47µm mesh Fertilization occurs within 5 minutes 8 cell cleavage within 10-11 hours 64 cell cleavage within 16-17 hours

24. shigen.nig.ac.jp reedmariculture.com algaelink.com Larval Algal Feed Cultures

25. Larvae Rearing Larvae were maintained in 190L tanks with flow through sea water Gastrula pre-feeding larvae within 3 days Auricularia feeding larvae within 4 days Auricularia continue to feed and grow

26. Juvenile Setting

27. ~ 20 days post hatching ~ 25 days post hatching ~ 35 days post hatching

28. Questions?