Alaska sea cucumber divers could be helping to cure cancer.<\/p>\n
Sea cucumber meat and skins have long been considered a delicacy in Asian cuisines; they also are hailed for having healing properties that soothe sore joints and arthritis. Most recently the soft, tubular bottom dwellers are being added to the list of foods acclaimed to kill cancer cells.<\/p>\n
Dried sea cucumber or extract is anti-viral; anti-bacterial, and an anti-inflammatory, said Ty Bollinger, a leading cancer expert and author of \u201cCancer: Step Outside the Box.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c<\/em>Sea cucumbers are very high in chondroitin sulfate, commonly used to treat joint pain and arthritis. To my knowledge, they have the highest concentrations of any animal,\u201d he said in an interview, adding that scientists have been studying the echinoderms for more than 15 years.<\/p>\n \u201cThey have properties that are cytotoxic, meaning they kill cancer cells, and that also help stimulate your immune system. The sea cucumber does both,\u201d Bollinger added.<\/p>\n The cuke extracts have demonstrated the ability to kill lung, breast, prostate, skin, colon, pancreatic and liver cancer cells, reports Ethan Evers, author of \u201cThe Eden Prescription.\u201d Credit for clobbering the cancer cells goes to a special molecule called Frondoside A isolated from the sea cucumber by researchers at United Arab Emirates University.<\/p>\n In a 2013 PubMed.gov report, the researchers said Frondocide A was a \u201chighly safe compound\u201d that in lab tests significantly decreased the growth and migration of lung cancer cells. They said their findings identify it as \u201ca promising novel therapeutic agent for lung cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n While sea cucumber capsules, powders and liquids can be bought over the pharmacy counter, Bollinger said you won\u2019t see cancer credentials on the packaging because the claims have not been verified by federal health agencies.<\/p>\n A scan of online retail shelves shows a varied mix of products and sizes typically selling between $20 to $40. Alaska Wild Caught Sun Dried Red Sea Cucumbers are priced at $75 to $145 per pound. Cukes sold to the food market fetch $25 to $110 per pound.<\/p>\n There are nearly 1,700 species of sea cucumbers in the world\u2019s oceans. Starting Oct. 1, up to 200 Alaska divers will be heading down for the red variety that thrives throughout Southeast waters. The animals, which can grow to 20 inches and weigh just over a pound, typically produce a harvest that tops 1 million pounds.<\/p>\n The divers usually get more than $4 a pound for cukes, making the fishery worth nearly $5 million at the docks. It could be worth far more but sea otters have devoured virtually every sea cucumber from the Panhandle\u2019s most abundant bays in recent years.<\/p>\n Fish funds <\/strong><\/p>\n The national Saltonstall Kennedy grant competition \u2013 ongoing since 1954 \u2013 is calling for simplified advance proposals for its annual backing of projects that focus on the U.S. fishing industry. The money \u2013 about $145 million most years – comes from a tax paid to the U.S. Customs Service on seafood imports. About $12 million will fund SK grants this go around, ranging from $25,000 to $300,000 for two years.<\/p>\n The popular program is always top heavy with academic and state applicants but it is trying to broaden its range, said Dan Namur, director of external funding for NOAA Fisheries.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the past two years we\u2019ve tried to open the door and make it more accessible to everybody,\u201d Namur said during an outreach trip to Alaska. \u201cWe\u2019re really seeking applications that demonstrate a direct benefit to the U.S. fishing industry and that have a lot of involvement from fishing communities. \u201c<\/p>\n Alaska received more than $1.5 million in SK grants last year primarily for fishery data collection projects.<\/p>\n The call now is for two-page proposals that focus on four areas, including marine aquaculture and seafood marketing.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom marketing existing fisheries to developing new markets for a fish that is underutilized, as well as branching out into areas that we\u2019re not tapping as well as we could,\u201d Namur explained.<\/p>\n Another funding target is environmental changes and long-term impacts on fishing communities.<\/p>\n \u201cThat could be physical changes happening in the environment. It also could be socio-economic impacts on the working waterfront, the communities and the individuals who live there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n A fourth SK grant priority is territorial science.<\/p>\n \u201c<\/em>We\u2019re looking for better information for data poor areas,\u201d Namur said. \u201cOne of the things we found in our territories, whether in the Western Pacific or the Caribbean, we need better data to make solid management decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n Deadline for SK pre-proposals is Oct 10. For more information, go to www.Grants.gov.<\/p>\n Count belugas! <\/strong><\/p>\n Citizen scientists and whale lovers are invited to help count belugas in Upper Cook Inlet. The first annual Belugas Count! will begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 9 with shoreside counts from 12 stations in Turnagain and Knik Arm using binoculars and aerial survey videos. From noon to 5 p.m., the Alaska Zoo will feature beluga related booths and events; the beluga tally will be announced at the end of the day.<\/p>\n The free, all-day event is a collaboration by federal and state agencies and organizations to bring more awareness to the endangered beluga whales.<\/p>\n \u201cBelugas are a big part of what makes Cook Inlet a special place, but they need our help,\u201d said Jim Balsiger, head of NOAA Fisheries in Alaska. \u201cThis event is a great way for the public to get involved and support beluga whale conservation.\u201d<\/p>\n The Cook Inlet beluga population numbered around 1,300 in the 1970s but has dwindled to just over 300 animals today, said Bob Shavelson of Cook Inletkeeper, which has been tracking the belugas for federal overseers for a decade.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are not rebounding and we need to know what is going on,\u201d Shavelson said. \u201cWe\u2019ve seen virtually no change in industrial activity in Upper Cook Inlet as a result of the whales being placed on the endangered species list. The municipality of Anchorage is still dumping up to 30 million gallons a day of treated sewage into beluga habitat.\u201d<\/p>\n Get more information about Belugas Count! on the NOAA website and on Facebook.<\/p>\n Video bling <\/strong><\/p>\n The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute is holding its first video contest that showcases the fishing life.<\/p>\n \u201cScenery and fishing is great but we also want to see more footage from processors and other parts of the industry. Alaska\u2019s seafood industry may start in the ocean and on the boats, but it ends at the plate. It would be great to capture some of that in the videos,\u201d said Jeremy Woodward, ASMI Communications Director.<\/p>\n Three winning videos up to five minutes long will be selected to be included in ASMI\u2019s promotional programs around the globe. Cash prizes are $1,500; $1,000 and $500. Deadline to enter is Sept. 30. Questions? Visit here or www.alaskaseafood.org.<\/p>\n Salmon watch <\/strong><\/p>\n Alaska\u2019s total salmon catch has surpassed the preseason forecast of 204 million fish, topping 206 million salmon on Friday with lots of fishing left to go.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Alaska sea cucumber divers could be helping to cure cancer. Sea cucumber meat and skins have long been considered a delicacy in Asian cuisines; they also are hailed for having healing properties that soothe sore joints and arthritis. Most recently the soft, tubular bottom dwellers are being added to the list of foods acclaimed to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":107,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":7,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[149],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-29972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life","tag-outdoors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/107"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29972"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29972\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29972"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=29972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}