Trepanging

Trepanging is the collection or harvesting of sea cucumbers, also called "trepang". One who does this activity is called a trepanger.

Trepanging is comparable to clamming, crabbing, lobstering, musseling, shrimping and other forms of "fishing" whose goal is the acquisition of edible invertebrates rather than fish.

Commerce

While largely unknown in the English-speaking world, trepanging is an economically important activity in some areas of the globe, particularly Southeast Asia. Sea cucumber is considered a delicacy in Far East countries such as Malaysia, China, Japan, and Indonesia.

Besides being valued for flavour-enhancing properties, sea cucumber is widely regarded as a stimulant and aphrodisiac. There is evidence that its reputed medicinal properties are actually true. [ [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10523072&dopt=Abstract/ Effects on tissue repair] ]

Based upon the belief in the healing properties of trepang, pharmaceutical and cosmetics companies have developed pills, oils, and creams based on their extracts. The effectiveness of sea cucumber extract in tissue repair has been the subject of recent scientific study. [ [http://www.ansinet.org/fulltext/pjbs/pjbs6242068-2072.pdf Study of healing properties] (PDF format)]

Methods

As slow-moving creatures related to starfish and sea urchins, sea cucumbers are found on the sea floor. As such, trepanging is accomplished by spearing, diving, dredging or simply picking the animals up by hand when they are exposed at low tide.

Traditionally, sea cucumbers were placed in boiling water before being dried and smoked to preserve the trepang for journey to market.

History

:"See also: History of fishingTo supply the markets of Southern China, Muslim trepangers from Makassar, Indonesia traded with the Indigenous Australians of Arnhem Land from the early 1700s or before. This Macassan contact with Australia is the first recorded example of interaction between the inhabitants of the Australian continent and their Asian neighbours. MacKnight, CC (1976). "The Voyage to Marege: Macassan Trepangers in Northern Australia." Melbourne University Press.]

This contact had a major impact on the Indigenous Australians. The Macassans exchanged goods such as cloth, tobacco, knives, rice and alcohol for the right to trepang coastal waters and employ local labour. Macassan pidgin became a "lingua franca" along the north coast among different Indigenous Australian groups who were brought into greater contact with each other by the seafaring Macassan culture.

Remains of Macassan trepang processing plants from the 18th and 19th centuries can still be found at Australian locations such as Port Essington and Groote Eylandt, along with stands of tamarind trees (which are native to Madagascar and East Africa) introduced by the seafaring Muslims.

See also

* Carronade Island
* Macassan contact with Australia

References