weight of the sea cucumbers decreased from 15.5 g in July to 10.5 g in
October, 2011 (Fig. 7a), when the water temperature exceeded 20 °C.
After October, the sea cucumbers grew rapidly, showing that the
mean SGR in each month was 1.0% in October and ≥1.5% from
November to March, 2012 (Fig. 7b), when the water temperature
ranged from 12 °C to 21 °C (Fig. 2). During the 545 days culture
below the fish cages until April 10, 2012, all individuals survived
and attained a marketable size (range=142 to 181 g, mean±SD=
160±12 g). The range and mean (±SD) values of SGR during the
whole culture period (Experiments 1 and 2) were 1.1 to 1.6% and
1.3±0.2%, respectively.