SEA CUCUMBER Holothuria  scabra JUVENILE GROWTH PERFORMANCE IN SALTWATER PONDS

Sea cucumber aquaculture in Malaysia is still in an early stage of development.  Artisanal wild seed collection and grow out had been practised in small number in Sabah.  Due to the seasonal and low number of seed available and also to prevent over exploitation of the natural resources the Department of Fisheries Malaysia has started a study on seed production of various species of sea cucumber which were Stichopus horrens, Stichopus vastus and Holothuria scabra.  Holothuria scabra as the main species focused in the aquaculture was selected in this study.  The issue faced was the slow growth and survival of juveniles in hatchery A study was carried out to determine the potential of saltwater pond as the nursery system for Holothuria scabra.  Survival and growth of sea cucumber juveniles cultured in were observed and recorded.  The juveniles used were produced using matured sea cucumber held in sea pen at Langkawi island.  Weight, length and survival number were collected monthly.   The result from this study showed that juveniles cultured in ponds has higher growth rates where at week 5 reached the average weight of 15.9 ± 5.9g whereas in hatchery was 4.1 ± 1.9 g.  The heaviest average was 21.7 ± 6.2 g  (Figure 1).