Some 68,000 metric tons of farmed sea cucumbers have died due to high temperatures in northern China in recent weeks.
Temperatures in excess of 40 degrees Celsius in early August broke regional records. Footage on Liaoning provincial TV showed dead and jelly-like sea cucumbers washing up on the shore at major aquaculture operations on the coastline.
Authorities in Liaoning Province pegged the value of the loss at CNY 6.8 billion (USD 1 billion, EUR 860 million), affecting most of the regional aquaculture operations farming sea cucumber. However, shares in Dalian Zhangzidao Fishery Group (Zoneco) shot up 10 percent after the company said its sea cucumbers had not been affected by the die-off, according to the South China Morning Post.
Dong Yunwei, a marine biology professor at Xiamen University, told the news outlet that Zoneco's crop had survived because it grows its sea cucumbers is deeper offshore "ocean ranches" that are more resistant to higher temperatures, whilemany other aquaculture operations grow sea cucumber in shallow ponds.
The disaster was expected to push up prices, Wang Mingli, president of the Sea Cucumber Association in Wafangdian, told state media.
“The price of sea cucumbers will rise by 20 to 30 per cent in the next two years because of the supply problem this year,” Mingli said.
