Premium Content Subscriber only The essential role Sea Cucumbers play in shaping and keeping the Great Barrier Reef healthy is now being tracked by drones capturing massive volumes of the creature’s poo. A delicacy in many Asian countries, the Sea Cucumber (holothurians) filters and cleans the reef, depositing huge amounts of waste yearly, equivalent to five times the weight of the Eiffel Tower. Their high value in Asian markets has led to mass overfishing globally, resulting in seven species endangered and nine in a vulnerable category. Scientists from the University of Newcastle, Macquarie University and James Cook University have discovered a new way to measure the volume of Sea Cucumber poo.