What is a 'bêche de mer'

April 6, 2001
From: Geoff Brady

I'm not sure I'm in the right place, but I'm trying to find out about a thing called (and I'm not sure about the spelling) a "beach de mer". Can anybody tell me how to spell it and where i can find some info about it please.

Thanks,
Geoff Brady

gbrady@provet.net.au

Dear Geoff,
It's not really the right place but because these animals are sometimes called 'sea slugs' I have got a page on them. Have a look at the top of the page.

The word bêche de mer is a French word referring to the way they crawl across the sea bottom 'eating' the sand and silt to remove the organic particles they feed on. [Bêche = spade and bêcher = to dig in French, and 'de mer' = of the sea.]

As you'll see at the top of the page these animals are also called 'sea cucumbers', for obvious reasons, and the Malay / Indonesian word for them is 'trepang'. They are related to sea stars and sea urchins. There is quite a fishery for some species in the tropics, the dried carcase being used in south east Asian cooking.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2001 (Apr 6). Comment on What is a 'bêche de mer' by Geoff Brady. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/4146

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