Sea Cucumber, as one of the possible resources for economic development, has been the subject of College of Micronesia Land Grant (COM) research in Micronesia for the past several years. NIFA (USDA), the funding agency for COM researches, expects that research findings and results should be transferred, when appropriate, from the “lab” to the “field”; to the consumers/users/stakeholders/communities.
The College of Micronesia Land Grant Program has undertaken the development of Hatchery based Holoturia scabra or Sandfish sea cucumber farming technology for local community-based economic development, future commercialization, and aiming at restocking the depleted stocks in the wild in Micronesian Islands of Pohnpei, Yap and Palau. The project aims to develop site-specific nursery and grow-out technologies for Sandfish sea cucumber which local fishers can adopt, thereby providing them supplementary income in addition to their fishing. This project further aims to attract foreign investors to invest in the local economy through 100 % foreign-owned businesses or being part of community-based business ventures, thereby boosting the local economy. The results of these research and extension efforts and the current and future challenges faced by the program would be discussed.