Location	Funding	Institution	Principal Investigator(s)
Hawaii	$38,802	Oceanic Institute	Dustin Moss, Ph.D.

Overall Project Goal

The goal of the current proposal is to test the feasibility of an IMTA approach using sea cucumbers to improve nutrient use efficiency and to create an additional revenue stream for shrimp farms.

Objectives

Year 1 and 2
1. Identify, determine availability, collect, and screen for shrimp pathogens for a minimum of two commercially-valuable species of sea cucumber that naturally occur in Hawaiian near-shore waters.
2. Conduct replicated sea cucumber culture experiments to quantify growth, survival, nutrient flow, and sludge (produced from shrimp RAS) processing capability.
3. Conduct two IMTA demonstration trials: 1- sea cucumbers fed sludge from a shrimp RAS while reared in a separate culture system and 2- polyculture of shrimp and sea cucumbers in a traditional open pond.
4. Disseminate research results to interested stakeholders in the USAPI and to a broader aquaculture community.