Summary
sea cucumbers are considered a delicacy in Asian cuisine, and of cultural and medical importance. They are exploited in >70 countries and exported to SE Asia, where consumers pay from €300 to €1,500/kg for a premium dehydrated product. Sharp rise of Asian demand in the last years has led to overexploitation of 66% of sea cucumber fisheries globally. Current bottom trawls for sea cucumber fishing have low efficacy, high by-catches, and cause irreversible damage to the marine seabed, so they are banned in several European countries.
On the other hand, sea cucumbers are very perishable and need to be processed by hand when dried quality individuals are sought to meet Asian standards. High man power costs in Europe to fully process sea cucumbers have hindered exportation of dried sea cucumbers to Asia from the only producing European country, Iceland. Half-processing frozen sea cucumbers are not only 15% less profitable than dried ones, but also imply elevated shipping costs since frozen individuals weigh only 50-70% less than fresh ones after catch, while percentage is reduced to 5% for dried cucumbers.
A great market opportunity exists for a profitable fishery and processing industry to be developed by means of TOBALAT novel technology in European countries with high sea cucumber potential such as Norway, Ireland, Scotland, Denmark, Netherlands, or Germany.
TOPBALAT consists of (i) A trawl highly-effective (>90%), respectful with the environment (
On the other hand, sea cucumbers are very perishable and need to be processed by hand when dried quality individuals are sought to meet Asian standards. High man power costs in Europe to fully process sea cucumbers have hindered exportation of dried sea cucumbers to Asia from the only producing European country, Iceland. Half-processing frozen sea cucumbers are not only 15% less profitable than dried ones, but also imply elevated shipping costs since frozen individuals weigh only 50-70% less than fresh ones after catch, while percentage is reduced to 5% for dried cucumbers.
A great market opportunity exists for a profitable fishery and processing industry to be developed by means of TOBALAT novel technology in European countries with high sea cucumber potential such as Norway, Ireland, Scotland, Denmark, Netherlands, or Germany.
TOPBALAT consists of (i) A trawl highly-effective (>90%), respectful with the environment (
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More information & hyperlinks
| Web resources: | https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/744115 |
| Start date: | 01-01-2017 |
| End date: | 31-03-2017 |
| Total budget - Public funding: | 71 429,00 Euro - 50 000,00 Euro |
Cordis data
Original description
sea cucumbers are considered a delicacy in Asian cuisine, and of cultural and medical importance. They are exploited in >70 countries and exported to SE Asia, where consumers pay from €300 to €1,500/kg for a premium dehydrated product. Sharp rise of Asian demand in the last years has led to overexploitation of 66% of sea cucumber fisheries globally. Current bottom trawls for sea cucumber fishing have low efficacy, high by-catches, and cause irreversible damage to the marine seabed, so they are banned in several European countries.On the other hand, sea cucumbers are very perishable and need to be processed by hand when dried quality individuals are sought to meet Asian standards. High man power costs in Europe to fully process sea cucumbers have hindered exportation of dried sea cucumbers to Asia from the only producing European country, Iceland. Half-processing frozen sea cucumbers are not only 15% less profitable than dried ones, but also imply elevated shipping costs since frozen individuals weigh only 50-70% less than fresh ones after catch, while percentage is reduced to 5% for dried cucumbers.
A great market opportunity exists for a profitable fishery and processing industry to be developed by means of TOBALAT novel technology in European countries with high sea cucumber potential such as Norway, Ireland, Scotland, Denmark, Netherlands, or Germany.
TOPBALAT consists of (i) A trawl highly-effective (>90%), respectful with the environment (
Status
CLOSEDCall topic
SMEInst-08-2016-2017Update Date
27-10-2022
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H2020-EU.3.2. SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy
