The waters around Phú Quý Island are home to many species of sea cucumber (locally called đồn đột). These species are abundant and diverse, typically found from about 1,000 meters offshore and beyond.
Today, most Phú Quý sea cucumbers are exported overseas, as they are not yet highly valued by domestic tourists. For those who understand traditional health practices, sea cucumber is considered beneficial for kidney nourishment, vitality, and balancing internal energy. Because of these medicinal values, sea cucumbers are commonly served in luxurious banquets and are a valuable export product, especially prized in Southeast Asian countries as well as Canada, the United States, and Australia.
According to local fishermen, Phú Quý has around 100 species of sea cucumber, varying in color, size, and name. However, they typically categorize ten main types:
white breast (and flower), black breast, black-spotted (hắc), brown, spiky (rít), apple (lựu), thorny (fragrant), “tỏi phương”, white-skinned leech, and “đỉa nậm.”
These species exhibit colors ranging from milky white to green-speckled, turmeric yellow, dark brown, and ink-black.
Among the commonly harvested types, some cost only a few tens of thousands of đồng per kilogram, while premium species such as vú sea cucumber can reach over 1 million VND per kilogram. This species has two rows of small “breasts” on its underside, hence the name “vú nàng.” Even within this group, there are two varieties: white vú nàng and red vú nàng. Buying directly from fishermen, the white variety already costs nearly 1 million VND per kilogram. However, harvesting vú nàng requires nighttime diving, as they rarely appear during the day.
Phú Quý has long been rich in sea cucumbers, once considered a top-tier “sea delicacy.” They are often cooked with Chinese medicinal herbs, paired with pigeon meat, black chicken, pork hock, beef tendon, or deer tendon—or infused into medicinal wine.
Sea cucumbers are most plentiful around late September when the sea becomes clear. In the past, they were abundant around the island. However, locals did not know the high economic and medicinal value of this “ocean elixir,” so harvesting was minimal. Over the past 6–7 years, as tourism grew and external trade increased, islanders learned about their high value and began harvesting heavily. As a result, sea cucumber stocks in Phú Quý’s waters have steadily declined. Today, fishermen must travel far offshore to find them; some boats return with only 5–10 kilograms after an entire trip.
Sea cucumbers are becoming increasingly scarce. Years ago, people could simply walk along rocky shores after storms and easily pick them up on the sand—nobody bothered collecting them because seafood was abundant on the island. Now, fishermen must travel dozens of nautical miles and dive more than 10 meters deep—such as 27 nautical miles from the island, in waters nearly 20 meters deep. And nowadays, every size of sea cucumber is harvested, large or small.
Sea cucumber is a valuable medicinal ingredient used for various purposes:
- Restoring health after exhaustion
- Nourishing kidneys and enhancing vitality
- Preventing and treating atherosclerosis
- Regulating protein and lipid metabolism in the blood
- Increasing oxygen absorption in the heart and liver
