Are Sea Slugs used as food?

June 24, 1999
From: Nick Robertson

Dr. Rudman-

My name is Nick Robertson and I am an intern with Aqua Magazine, based in Carpinteria, California. I am researching the possible practice of harvesting and cooking sea slugs for consumption for the magazine's Blue Plate Special section (seafood not for the squeamish). Your website was very informative for discovering more about the sea slug itself, and shone some light on the impractical aspects of eating them, but I would like to know if there are any sea slugs that can be used as food - are the gentle creatures still eaten today, and if so, where and how? If you have any information about this matter, I would be greatly appreciative if you could drop me a line and fill me in.

Thank you in advance.

Thanks again,
Nick Robertson
Aqua Magazine

aqua@aquamag.com

Robertson, N., 1999 (Jun 24) Are Sea Slugs used as food?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/975

Dear Nick,
As you will have seen on the site, nasty chemicals in the skin deter most animals from eating opisthobranchs. Have a look at the Recipe page where there is some discussion on Tochuina in the North Pacific and the confusion with holothurians. The only information I have on current use of sea slugs as food is the Sea Hare Dolabella auricularia. Have a look at Veikila Vuki's message from Fiji where both the egg mass and the animal are eaten. She even gives a recipe for the animal. Look also at the other messages from Fiji.

If you find any other recipes from elsewhere in the world I would be interested in hearing about them. And let your readers know about the Sea Slug Forum.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 1999 (Jun 24). Comment on Are Sea Slugs used as food? by Nick Robertson . [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/975

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