ABSTRACT
The sea cucumber Cucumaria frondosa (Echinodermata:Holothuroidea) is one of the most abundant and widely distributed species of holothurians in the North Atlantic and the Barents Sea. Lately, commercial interest has focused on the fishery potential of C. frondosa. The sea cucumber fishery is relatively new, but rapidly expanding in the Maine and in Russia. However, like other emerging fisheries, we have little information about the biology and ecology of the sea cucumber, especially in Maine, and little knowledge about the key life history processes that characterize population dynamics of the sea cucumber in both areas.
