[3] It has a thick dermis without any spikes, making it an easily edible species and thus it is harvested for export to East Asia, where sea cucumber is popular in some cuisines.
[2][4] The fishery is typically conducted in an unsustainable manner, mostly in North and South America, which has caused the populations to decline.
[6][7] Like other sea cucumber, I. fuscus is a deposit feeder, whose survival tends to increase with soft-substrates such as sand or clay.
[8] The brown sea cucumber are quite small organisms, with average body length and weight being 23 cm and 386 g, respectively.
[9] The largest samples have been recorded reaching up to 40 cm and weighing 830 g, although weight varies seasonally according to reproduction and the maturity stage.
[4] Their general body shape is curved, similar to a half circle, and they have a dark brown coloration and are spotted with orange papillae.
[13] The reproductive cycle of the brown sea cucumber consists of five gonadal stages: under-determined, gametogenesis, maturity, spawning and post-spawning.
[11] Connective tissue in the lumen is present and the gonadal wall is thickened[14] The following four stages are different among males and females.
[11] Phagocytes are involved in reducing the number of gonads present, thus ending the reproductive cycle in females.
The results were successful, showing a high survival rate, and a complete regeneration of anterior and posterior body parts in a maximum of three months.
The results suggest that asexual propagation could serve as a potential tool for restoring their population in the wild.
The larval phase begins after the organism hatches from its embryonic envelope, and undergo a series of transformations for approximately 22 days; The juvenile stage is initiated afterwards.
The juveniles begin to develop brown pigment when they reach a length of approximately 5 mm, and tentacles are visible at about 8mm.
[18] The brown sea cucumber is a highly sought out commodity in many North and South American countries, including Mexico, Costa Rica and Ecuador.
As it is such a common item in the fisheries of these countries, overfishing and overexploitation of the brown sea cucumber is a vast problem.
[19] Sea cucumbers are typically used in traditional Chinese medicines as well as in many Asian and South American cuisines.
[20] It is often combined with other ingredients in soups and stews and more recently, dried sea cucumber is made into tablets and has been marketed as a nutritional supplement.
[20] Due to the unsustainable fisheries pertaining to this species as well as its high demand in many Asian and South American cuisines, it has ultimately caused a decline in not just Isostichopus fuscus, but many holothurian populations.