Reproductive Pattern of Sea Cucumber, Holothuria scabra at Two Different Sites in Sabah, Malaysia

Abstract

Holothuria scabra is one of valuable sea cucumber in Sabah as it can give a high quality of beche-de-mer that can be source of income for the fisherman. High demand of this species has led to overexploitation and overfishing, thus production in hatchery is crucial to overcome this problem since this species able to be reared in captivity. The presence study was conducted for 14 months started from July 2015 until August 2016 at two places Kudat (N06°49’24.4”, E116°51’42.0”) and Kunak (N04°39’52.05”, E118°15’49.01”) Sabah, Malaysia. Gonad index (GI) and microscopic examinations were used to evaluate monthly variations of gonad maturation. Annual reproductive pattern was observed at Kudat where the highest peak of GI was in July 2015 (1.678 ± 1.079%) and the lowest in July 2016 (0.00 ± 0.00%) whereas in Kunak continuous pattern recorded with the highest peak in September 2015 (3.491 ± 1.699%) and the lowest GI in Feb 2016 (0.184 ± 0.097%). Size at first sexual maturity in Kudat and Kunak were approximately 99 g and 101 g, respectively and in length approximately 174 mm for both places.

Keywords: Holothuria scabra, reproductive pattern, gonad index, Kudat, Kunak