The species is collected and sold as a model organism for various fields of science, as fish bait, or for human consumption. It is also sold and exported as a dried seafood product. In particular,
S. nudus is collected, cleaned of its innards, and eaten as a delicacy in the
South Chinese provinces of
Guangdong,
Hainan,
Guangxi, and
Fujian. The worms are local delicacies in
Beihai, Guangxi, where
Běihǎi shāchóng (, lit. "Beihai sandworm") and sold in dried form to be fried as a snack or braised as an ingredient for a soup stock. In
Xiamen, Fujian, the species is called
tǔsǔn (, lit. "earth bamboo shoot") and is braised and allow to gel in the liquid as eaten as
aspic tǔsǔndòng) in local restaurants.
Sipunculus nudus is also collected on islands in the northern Vietnamese province of
Quang Ninh where
sá sùng (local pronunciation of ) is used as an ingredient for
pho stock. ==References==