Evisceration rate of sandfish Holothuria scabra during transportation

Abstract

The sandfish Holothuria scabra is a benthic animal of high ecological and economic value. The high economic value of sandfish has led to declining populations due to overfishing. Initiatives to improve sandfish production have included restocking, sea-ranching and aquaculture (captive breeding and grow-out). These initiatives require a supply of animals (seed and/or broodstock) that often originate far from the location where they are needed. This calls for a good transportation system so that the sandfish arrive in good condition. This study aimed to assess the evisceration rate of sandfish transported using open and closed transportation modes. During the study, different modes of packing, density, transportation time, and holding time were evaluated. This study indicated that delivery using open systems gave poor results; besides being less practical, post-transport evisceration was very high. The ratio of oxygen and water and the packing density did not appear to affect the sandfish evisceration rate. Evisceration seemed to be triggered by the presence of dead and decaying sandfish in the bag. Sandfish that survived transportation generally recovered swiftly after being placed in a pre-prepared holding tank. The transported sandfish were used for multitrophic aquaculture and the post-transport survival ratio was very high.