Northern China’s Sea Cucumbers Fall Victim to Heat Wave
Liao Shumin & Xu Zuwei
(Yicai Global) Aug. 7 — Scorching weather in northeastern China’s Liaoning province has killed off large areas of sea cucumbers, an ingredient in local food and traditional medicine, causing economic losses of up to CNY6.9 billion (USD1 billion).
Some 63,000 hectares of sea cucumbers in Liaoning have fallen victim with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius since late last month, reported state-owned broadcaster CCTV citing data from the provincial fisheries ministry.
China produced some 200,000 tons of sea cucumbers last year, official data shows. Liaoning is the country’s second-biggest source of the marine animal and accounts for 35 percent of the total, only behind neighboring Shandong.
Domestic prices of sea cucumbers are expected to rise as a result of the situation and the market could be affected at least until 2021, a market insider told Securities Times. The growth period for the marine animals is usually about two-and-a-half to three years.
Farmers of the holothurian species are working to salvage their stocks, while fishery authorities have organized aquaculture experts to go to the sites to evaluate the situation first-hand while providing guidance on production, sterilization and disinfection of the concerned ponds.
Editor: William Clegg
