By Chris Muise
翻译:杨沁

Jim Zhang came from China seven years ago to study economics at Saint Mary’s University. His family are in the food business back home, so he kept a keen eye on our ocean’s bounty for prospective new markets here.

“When I first came here, I was trying to look for the local seafood, maybe have an opportunity to bring some to China,” says Zhang.

Zhang would find a seafood product that could give him a foothold in the market, both in China and Canada, but it wasn’t with any of the seafood that we’re famous for. Instead of fresh Atlantic lobster, or haddock, or herring, Zhang is putting Nova Scotia on the map with our local…sea cucumber?

Yes, in case you didn’t know, Nova Scotia waters do play home to sea cucumber, the blobby little creatures known for weaponizing their intestines. Jules LeBlanc has been involved in the sea cucumber industry locally since 1999, but only met Zhang about four years ago. Zhang came to LeBlanc after discovering the product, with an idea for an untapped market to explore.

Sea cucumber is a popular dish in China and other Asian countries, and is consumed more like a medicine than food. It’s touted as a traditional medicine for everything from arthritis to impotency to even cancer – some call it ‘the ginseng of the sea’ – but the health benefits of the Chinese variety of sea cucumber are currently up in the air.

“They farm the sea cucumber in China – the food safety is a problem right now. People used medicine to farm the sea cucumber, then the sea cucumber have that special stuff inside, so it’s actually harmful,” says Zhang. “Once the Chinese sea cucumber safety problem happened, people are looking for healthy seafood from outside.” Read More →