Sea cucumber processing apparatus and method

A method of processing a sea cucumber comprising the steps of:

• a. Obtaining a sea cucumber;
• b. Placing the sea cucumber longitudinally on a conveyor belt in an input channel formed between a lower feed guide and an upper feed guide narrowing in the direction of the conveyor belt;
• c. Conveying the sea cucumber through the input channel to align and elongate the sea cucumber for additional processing;
• d. Cutting, with a blade, an incision longitudinally through an upper body wall of the sea cucumber, from mouth to anus as the sea cucumber is conveyed through an exit from the input channel;
• and
• e. Splitting the incision in the sea cucumber by conveying the sea cucumber into a wedge disposed about the blade.

An apparatus for processing sea cucumber comprising:

• an input channel for receiving, aligning, and elongating a sea cucumber;
• a blade positioned after the input channel to cut an incision longitudinally through one side of a body wall of a sea cucumber, as the sea cucumber exits the input channel;
• and
• a forward wedge of a first flattening plate disposed about a trailing edge of the blade.