Stichopus japonicus is a kind of sea cucumber, and Stichopus japonicus is a wild sea cucumber. We usually refer to sea cucumber as captive sea cucumber, also called cultured sea cucumber. Their differences are as follows:

growing environment

Stichopus japonicus (wild sea cucumber): it grows in deep sea area without pollution. Due to natural environmental factors and tidal influence, sea cucumber has no fixed food, and mostly feeds on seaweed and benthic microorganisms. It grows naturally and has a long growth cycle, which makes it extremely rich in nutrients. The fishing of Stichopus japonicus has certain seasonality, and the sea cucumbers with insufficient growth years are generally not fished, which is also the reason why Stichopus japonicus has thick meat, good taste toughness, many active substances accumulated in the body and high nutritional value.

Culture of sea cucumbers: Cofferdams or shrimp ponds have shallow water level and sufficient sunlight, so sea cucumbers grow rapidly and have low nutrient accumulation, just as the value of cultured soft-shelled turtles is far lower than that of wild soft-shelled turtles. What is even more alarming is that some sea cucumber farmers add antibiotics to the ponds where sea cucumbers are cultivated in order to prevent and control pests and diseases. In order to promote the rapid growth of sea cucumber, growth hormone is added to feed, which leads to drug residues in adult sea cucumber and is potentially harmful to human body. Its nutritional value is also lower than that of Stichopus japonicus.

Body

1. Bottom foot: Stichopus japonicus generally grows in the sea area with a water depth of about 2, and looks for food through the bottom foot action, so the bottom foot grows short and thick; However, the captive sea cucumber does not need to move because of long-term use of the bait put by the breeder, and lives in shallow water area, so the action function of the bottom foot decreases, the adsorption force is poor, and it becomes slender.

2. sand mouth: the sand mouth of Stichopus japonicus is big and hard. In terms of meat quality, wild sea cucumber grows deep in water (15 to 2 meters), with low water temperature, little sunshine, slow growth, thick and elastic meat, wide and full tendons and rich nutrients. However, the captive sea cucumber grows fast, and the meat is soft and not tight.

3. Shape: Stichopus japonicus is spindle-shaped, with thick tips at the middle, short and chubby, and looks very strong; The captive sea cucumber is slender and lacks tenacity.

4. backstab: The spines on the back and sides of Stichopus japonicus are equally thick. However, due to the influence of the growing environment, the spines on the back and sides of captive sea cucumbers may be different in thickness and length, and the spines are long and slender, which makes them feel powerless.

Taste

Wild Stichopus japonicus is very resistant to boiling, even if it is boiled for a little longer, it won't have much influence. The boiled Stichopus japonicus is elastic, bright, fleshy and chewy, and has a good taste. Stichopus japonicus in captivity is not resistant to cooking, and it will become fat after cooking for a long time, and its meat quality lacks toughness and its taste is not good.

Growth years

Wild Stichopus japonicus generally grows for more than 4 to 5 years before reaching the fishing standard. The longer the time, the more nutrients are deposited, and the greater the nourishing value. It is recognized by the medical community that the wild sea cucumbers with the highest nutritional value are the best in quality, which are produced in sea island and Zhangzidao waters and have a growth period of 3-5 years. The temperature, water depth and salinity here are most suitable for the growth of sea cucumbers. The sea cucumbers have a long growth period, are farthest from the land, are not polluted by human beings, and produce the best quality sea cucumbers.

The captive sea cucumbers are rich in bait at suitable temperature, and grow fast. Generally, they can be sold after reaching the commodity specifications of 5-8 heads, and their health and nourishing effects are relatively poor.