IAORA fishes, processes and markets New Caledonian sea cucumbers.
Sea cucumber, an exceptional Caledonian product
New Caledonia is an archipelago in Oceania located in the South Pacific. Grande Terre (the main island) is surrounded by a 1,600 km long coral reef which defines the largest lagoon in the world with a surface area of 24,000 km².
This lagoon is at the heart of the Coral Sea Natural Park, a marine protected area covering 1.3 million square kilometres, one of the world’s largest marine protected areas. Among the species found in this unique ecosystem are sea cucumbers, also known as sea cucumbers or sea spades. Of the 1,200 species of sea cucumbers, 56 are found in New Caledonia and 12 are authorised to be fished.
Because of the small number of species available and the fact that they are collected by hand using ancestral methods, New Caledonian sea cucumbers are considered to be one of the most luxurious Asian dishes on a par with caviar.
It symbolises refinement, the pinnacle of the dish that is enjoyed on rare and prestigious occasions.
IAORA EXPORT
In a context of worldwide overexploitation to meet the growing demand of the Asian market, New Caledonian sea bream is appreciated and considered a luxury product.
Founded in the 1980s by Ferdinand Sangue, Iaora Export has grown to become a company that works with several seafood products and is New Caledonia’s main exporter of sea bech.
Of Chinese origin, Ferdinand Sangue was a pioneer in New Caledonia. Passionate about sea cucumbers, he made his company a model in this field. This passion has been passed on to his children Michaël and Vaiana Royer-Sangue, who today keep the company going thanks to their unique know-how.
Iaora Export also works with trocas shells, large shells from the gastropod mollusc family that live on the coral reefs of New Caledonia.
The magnificent mother-of-pearl from their shells is highly sought after for buttons and jewellery.
As a shipowner, peddler, processor and exporter of sea spades, Iaora Export is a major player in the New Caledonian sea spade economy. Respect for all the links in the value chain – their employees as well as the 200 fishermen who work for them – is essential for this family business. The finished product is all the better for it.
Responsible fishing
The lagoon of New Caledonia is part of the Coral Sea Park. As the richness of its biodiversity must be protected for future generations, Iaora Export is committed to sustainable management of the resource and to a near-zero impact on the ecosystems.
Whilst sea bream is overexploited in most parts of the world, only 12 of the 56 species found in New Caledonia are allowed to be fished. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), ratified by France in 2020, governs and regulates the sea cucumber trade.
The local knowledge of the coastal communities of New Caledonia, stemming from an ancestral heritage, is a fundamental pillar of this desire for sustainability. Here, no dredging, i.e. dragging a sled along the seabed, which damages the seabed, is used. Professional fishermen have a special permit to fish for sea cucumbers. They fish by snorkelling and collect the sea cucumbers by hand, respecting minimum catch sizes. This way, no trace of their passage remains and the resource is protected.
The fishermen are also trained in sea cucumber counting techniques and participate in the evaluation of the sea cucumber population according to a quota system.
Very concerned about the fragility of the resource and the need to regulate fishing, Iaora Export implements practices that respect the resource, the environment and the products caught.
The products
Holothurians (Holothuroidea) are members of the echinoderm phylum like sea urchins or starfish, and of the holothurid class. They have a soft, oblong body and a ring of tentacles around the mouth. Live sea cucumbers are generally 15 to 80 centimetres long depending on the species
A medicinal and culinary
tradition in Asia
Extremely prized, sea cucumbers have been consumed by Asians since ancient times.
The sea cucumber is sought after for its medicinal virtues and has been part of the Chinese pharmacopoeia since the dawn of time. It is believed to have antiseptic, pain-relieving, anti-cancer, anti-cholesterol and even aphrodisiac properties. Chinese doctors recommend sea cucumbers because they have the virtue of remedying kidney failure, nourishing the blood and calming the heat, and they also have a haemostatic effect.
In China, sea cucumbers were a favourite dish of the Emperor and are still considered a prestigious dish throughout South-East Asia. They can be eaten raw or cooked, their flavour is very light and their interest lies mainly in their consistency (crunchy) and in the therapeutic virtues attributed to them by traditional Chinese medicine. In Chinese, the word for sea cucumbers, 海参 hǎishēn, can be understood to mean « ginseng of the sea ».
This omega-3 rich superfood can be stewed, fried, smoked, or even eaten raw in some cases.
It is very low in fat and saturated fat, yet rich in antioxidants and vitamins B3 and B2.
It is a favourite of many top chefs and is found on the menus of starred restaurants around the world. Sea cucumber is one of the four prestigious types of dried seafood in Asian cuisine and is found in many fine dishes celebrating the Chinese New Year.
But this delicacy is not so complicated to cook! Once it has been rinsed and boiled, it can be served in many ways: braised with spring onions, mushrooms, dried shrimp roe or abalone sauce; or fried or sautéed with pork belly and leeks, or as a stew or soup!
