Roy Goh New Straits Times 12 Aug 10;
KOTA MARUDU: A team of scientists, divers and businessmen have set up a base in a small village here to breed sea cucumbers.
Fibreglass water tanks, holding rooms, containers and makeshift offices have been put in place to learn more about the squiggly creatures which are a much sought-after delicacy.
At the heart of the centre in Kampung Limau-Limauan, a scenic fishing village located at the border of the district here and Kudat, is project leader and main investor, Wong King Ti.
An established businessman who owns budget hotels, chalets and a property investment and management company in his home base in Kuala Lumpur as well as a seafood trader and prawn aquaculture operator, Wong sees good prospects in the sea cucumber industry for Sabah.
"A few years ago, I traded in sea cucumbers, but my supply from local fishing villages dwindled dramatically. That is why I chose Sabah recently to start up a research and development centre so that we can produce sea cucumbers more consistently.
"This location, for instance, has a good supply of high quality sea cucumbers and the quality of its water is the best," he said of Kampung Limau- Limauan, which fronts the Marudu Bay, north of Sabah.
"We wish to succeed in breeding sea cucumbers and, at the same time, with our research, we hope to be able to replenish their dwindling population through releasing juveniles into the sea," he said recently during a visit by Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili.
Wong added that sea cucumbers also acted as deposit feeders or "vacuum cleaners at the bottom of the sea".
He hopes to collect specimens from the village's water and breed them in the research centre.
"We are now pooling the expertise of a team of people who know about the creatures, the sea and the sea cucumber industry. On top of that, we are also getting the local community to help us out.
"Many sea cucumber traders have already approached us and are eager to know what we can offer them in the future. We believe there is a need to have proper legislation and enforcement to limit the harvesting of wild sea cucumbers.
"There is also a need to ban trawling in bays where the breeding process usually takes place."
He added that only with such enforcement in place could the industry flourish and meet the demand for the delicacy which sells for between RM50 and RM1,000 per kilogramme.
