The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Fisheries and Aquaculture Department has released a field guidebook, titled "Commercially Important Sea Cucumbers of the World," which is part of the FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes collection.
The guide is intended as an identification tool for fishery managers, scientists, trade officers and industry workers to distinguish various species exploited and traded worldwide.
28 January 2013: The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Fisheries and Aquaculture Department has released a field guidebook, titled “Commercially Important Sea Cucumbers of the World,” which is part of the FAO Species Catalogue for Fishery Purposes collection.
The guidebook, which is produced by FAO FishFinder and benefited from the collaboration of sea cucumber scientists worldwide as well as FAO expertise, provides identification information on 58 species of sea cucumbers that are commonly exploited in artisanal and industrial fisheries around the world. Many other species that are exploited either in a small number of localities or in relatively small quantities are not presented.
The guide is intended as an identification tool for fishery managers, scientists, trade officers and industry workers. It contains key information identification sheets allowing users to distinguish each species from similar species, both in live and processed (dried) forms.
Where available, the following information is included for each species: nomenclature together with FAO names and known common names used in different countries and regions; scientific illustrations of the body and ossicles; descriptions of ossicles present in different body parts; a color photograph of live and dried specimens; basic information on size, habitat, biology, fisheries, human consumption, market value and trade; and geographic distribution maps. [Publication: Commercially Important Sea Cucumbers of the World]