Couillard CM et al. (2021), Morphometrics and processing yield of Cucumaria...

ECB-ART-49359

PLoS One 2021 Jan 22;161:e0245238. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0245238.

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Morphometrics and processing yield of Cucumaria frondosa (Holothuroidea) from the St. Lawrence Estuary, Canada.

Couillard CM , Maltais D , Belley R .

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Sea cucumber Cucumaria frondosa have highly variable whole body mass and length, and are usually sold to Asian markets as dried gutted body wall. Understanding the relation between size and yield of dry product is essential for resource conservation and for economic purposes. In this study, stock-specific mass and length recovery rates were estimated for C. frondosa captured by dredging or diving at various depths and seasons on the South shore of the St. Lawrence Estuary, along Gaspé Peninsula, and processed in a commercial plant. The processing yield in dry product mass per sea cucumber was more than 1.5 times larger for sea cucumbers collected at 26-47 m depth compared to those collected at 9-16 m depth. Within each strata, there was little variation in the processed body mass, seasonally or spatially. Recovery rates based on gutted mass for this stock (13.4─14.5%) varied little among depths and seasons, despite observed seasonal and bathymetric variation in reproductive status. In contrast, recovery rates based on whole body mass and length were highly variable both seasonally and spatially. Stress related to dredging or post-capture handling induced important variable body contraction and water content, leading to variation in body length, mass and shape of sea cucumbers having the same processed body mass. Gutted mass was the best metric to predict processed body mass and to estimate size whereas whole body length was the least reliable. New stock-specific information on variability of body mass, length, and recovery rates induced by capture, and on seasonal and bathymetric variation in reproductive status and processing yields will be used for the design of future stock assessment surveys, and for stock conservation.

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	Fig 1. Map of sampling sites for sea cucumber (Cucumaria frondosa) collected on the South shore of St. Lawrence Estuary, QC, Canada.Diving (red squares) or dredging (black triangles) sites are indicated. Canadian provinces: Que., Québec, N.B., New-Brunswick, N.S., Nova Scotia, N.L., Newfoundland and Labrador, P.E.I., Prince Edward Island. SLE, St. Lawrence Estuary and GSL, Gulf of St. Lawrence. Limits of the sea cucumber fishing areas are presented (vertical black lines). Sampling group identification: M, May, J, July, S, September, O, October, Fishing area -AA, -A, -B, or -C and—water depth (last 2 numbers, m).
	Fig 2. Seasonal variation in whole, gutted and processed masses and lengths in sea cucumbers collected by diving.The line in the middle of the box corresponds to the mean of the log10-transformed data, the top and bottom of the box are the mean plus and minus standard deviation and the whiskers extend outside of the box at the maximum and minimum values. Different capital and small-case letters indicate significant differences among groups within sex (ANOVA, p ≤ 0.05). Asterisks indicate significant differences between sexes. Group identification: M, May, J, July, S, September—Fisheries area -A, or -AA, and—water depth (last 2 numbers).
	Fig 3. Variation in gonadosomatic indices for male and female sea cucumbers collected at different times and sites on the South shore of St. Lawrence Estuary.Results are presented for the A) diving or B) dredging studies. The line in the middle of the box corresponds to the median, the top and bottom of the box are the 75th and 25th percentiles determining the Inter Quartile Range (IQR) and the whiskers extend outside of the box at a distance of 1.5 X IQR. Outlier values are illustrated (black circles). Different capital and small-case letters indicate significant differences among groups for samples collected by diving or dredging respectively (Kruskal-Wallis test, p ≤ 0.05). Group identification: M, May, J, July, S, September, O, October -Fishing area -A, -AA, -B, or -C, and—water depth (last 2 numbers).
	Fig 4. Spatial variation in whole, gutted and processed masses and lengths in sea cucumbers collected by dredging.The line in the middle of the box corresponds to the mean of the log10-transformed data, the top and bottom of the box are the mean plus and minus standard deviation and the whiskers extend outside of the box at the maximum and minimum values. Different letters indicate significant differences among groups (ANOVA, p ≤ 0.05). Group identification: O, October,—Fishing area -B, or -C, and—water depth (last 2 numbers).

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