The seafood fishery and processing industry has a long-standing tradition and is of key importance to coastal communities. Currently, the highest risk to the seafood industry is the availability of supply due to the decline in stock of traditional species. Hence, the need for diversification. Sea Cucumbers (SC) are echinoderms, in the same family as starfish. SC have a high international commercial value, and global demand is increasing in Asia; led by China. SC are a rather unknown yet highly available resource in Europe and constitute a very profitable product. SC are currently discarded in fishing operations that involve trawling and dredging. Instead of discarding them, fisheries will increase European sector’s incomes, particularly during fish-banned seasons of other species.
On the other hand, limited environmental impact of the fishing methods is core to assure the sustainability of supply (and thus, business) and is increasingly more valued by fishermen and consumers. The harvesting of SC is made either by hand or by using traditional seafood fishing dredges, (e.g. typical scallop dredges). These are ski- and beam-dredges usually constructed from a very heavy steel frame in the form of a scoop, with teeth along the bottom bar of the frame, that jump over obstacles by scraping and pushing, and that create irreversible damage on seabed’s animal and plant communities. The global challenges posed by current dredge / trawling fishing methods impact directly on fishing stocks sustainability. Bottom trawling produces comparable effects on the deep sea-floor to those generated by agricultural ploughing on land, and some countries have introduced fishing restrictions.
The fishing sector is also claiming for efficient methods and for the reduction of expenditure, to reduce business risks and to guarantee long-term sustainability. Fishing and processing costs are associated with the time and effort required to fish an adequate catch and to produce a profitable product. Moreover, those countries outside the Euro suffer from an additional risk that requires the produce to be extra profitable so that it is possible to buffer currency fluctuations (in countries such as Iceland, Norway, Scotland).
TOPBALAT’s innovations consist of two technological components to harvest and process sea cucumbers:
• A modified dredge adapted to SC. A new -tech fishing gear resulting from drastic modifications of the conventional gear currently used and the attachment of a high-end sensor system to provide the skipper with information on the gear’s position and fishing performance. The new dredge is expected to improve maneuverability, reduce damage to the dredge and the sea floor, and increase catch efficiency.
• An innovative processing machinery which automate tasks, and deliver processing accuracy and efficiency, with the aim of getting a commercial high-value product at low cost. This processing also impacts positively on the distribution of the product, as shipping further processed and dried sea cucumber is much more efficient cost-wise than frozen raw material.
