The blue sea cucumber ( Actinopyga caerulea Samyn, VandenSpiegel&Massin ) has been discovered for the first time in Vietnam.

Experts from the Research Institute for Aquaculture No 3 found it off the central province of Khanh Hoa while doing a survey on the country’s sea slug population.

Vu Dinh Dap, deputy head of the Institute, said the blue sea cucumber was first discovered in Indonesia in 2006 and later in the Philippines and Thailand.

Sea slugs are a popular source of protein in the Vietnamese diet./.