On the hunt for sea cucumbers: Field trip in Iceland

It was the 9th of April 2025, a classic foggy, rainy and windy day in Iceland, when we hit the road on a very special mission. We got news that live and fresh sea cucumbers were waiting for us at Aurora Seafood in Stokkseyri. We left Matís around 10 am, excited as we set out on our journey.

The roads were nearly empty, the fog thick, wrapping the landscape in mystery and blocking our view of the usually breathtaking surroundings. The only thing cutting through the grey was the vivid green moss blanketing the lava fields.

We were cruising along peacefully, the only ones heading toward Stokkseyri, when suddenly a white car with blue lights appeared in our rearview mirror. The police. We exchanged a few nervous glances and briefly debated pulling over. But the car past us without a second thought, headed straight to the prison just up ahead.
A few minutes later, we arrived in the charming town of Stokkseyri. It may be small, but it pulses with artistic energy from the organ builder’s workshop (orgelsmiður) to the local art gallery and the Fisherinn Cultural Center and Hostel. And of course, there's that beautiful sea view that makes you want to pause for a moment longer than planned.

We parked in front of a picturesque Icelandic church built in 1886, and just across from it stood Aurora Seafood. A friendly man stepped out to greet us and invited Ólafur inside. Moments later, Ólafur emerged triumphantly carrying six live sea cucumbers (Cucumaria frondosa). The animals were put into a 30 L bucket containing sea water and hooked up to a pump to keep the oxygen flowing.

Back at Matís by lunchtime, we carefully transferred our new sea cucumber companions to the beloved "Barbie incubator", a pink 10°C incubator that would be their temporary home. Immediately after lunch, Elísabet got to work collecting tissue samples for Frondoside A extraction and quantification as well as microbiome sequencing. The following day, sampling continued, this time collecting different tissues for cell culture and cryopreservation. But the thrill and excitement are not finished as cell cultures are still ongoing.

 

By: Lara Chrystina Malta Neri, Matís Iceland