Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is abundant in the marine environment, which is one of the largest reservoirs of carbon on the Earth’s surface. DOM plays an important role in the biological chemistry cycles, mediating material flow and energy cycle of the artificial marine ranching ecosystem. In artificial marine ranching, the bottom and other sediments are the direct bait resources of the sea cucumber (). Sediment coming from different areas and origins will directly affect ingestion efficiency and digestibility. In the present study, UV-visible spectroscopy (UV-VIS) and three-dimensional excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy (3DEEM) were used to investigate the fluorescence properties of DOM in the intestinal contents of from four different artificial marine ranches. The bait environmental conditions of the were evaluated based on the source and the DOM constituents in the intestinal contents. Spectroscopic characteristics of dissolved organic matter (DOM) were determined using ultraviolet absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy to investigate spatial distribution of DOM composition. The results indicated that the value of E3/E4 ranged from 1.56 to 2.98, the mean value of the humification level, aromaticity and the relative molecular weight is Laizhou>Shuangdao> Swanlake>Lidao. The results suggested that the baits of from Laizhou sea area might contain more and were more easily enzymatically digested than the baits from other three sea areas. Meanwhile, the baits of from the Lidao sea area may have a higher physiological and biodegradation activity. No significant difference of absorbency was observed at 280 nm, which suggested that has no preference for the dissolved oxygen content in the sediment. 3DEEM scanning indicated an obvious protein fluorescence peak in all images. The diverse sources of protein-like fluorescence indicated that these marine ranche shave diverse and complex diet resources. Overall, the value of f450/f500 ranged from 1.00 to 1.42, and was mostly close to 1.40. This may represent the humus in the DOM coming from terrigenous input, which suggested that the food in the marine ranch is influenced by the terrigenous input, and is easily affected by exogenous disturbance. The baits of are complex and influenced by the environment. Any single resource from the environment cannot describe the constituents of the baits. The DOM extracted from the intestinal contents of provide an overview of the baits in the marine ranches. These results indicated that continuous monitoring of the marine sediment is important for ensuring good quality food sources for the precious marine species in artificial marine ranches.