Green sea urchin is highly coveted as an ingredient in Japanese cuisine, seen on sushi menus as uni. All photos by Coleen Suckling /GAA

An urchin opportunity awaits in New England

UNITED STATES
Thursday, April 15, 2021, 21:00 (GMT + 9)

The following is an excerpt from an article published by the Global Aquaculture Advocate:

With more than one way to farm green sea urchins, interest in developing a source for the sushi delicacy uni is on the rise

In an effort to both restore waterways and meet a growing demand for the so-called foie gras of the sea, researchers in the northeastern corner of the United States are stepping up their efforts to restore green sea urchins.

“There is a demand in the market for urchin roe, or uni, but there really isn’t the supply to meet it in New England,” said Coleen Suckling, assistant professor of sustainable aquaculture at the University of Rhode Island. “There is space to work towards this demand in New England but it needs to be through sustainable aquaculture.”

Researchers from the University of Maine, Maine Sea Grant, University of Rhode Island and University of New Hampshire have received a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Northeast Regional Aquaculture Center to start moving toward that goal. The grant will be used to improve hatchery production and work with potential urchin farmers on grow-out possibilities in the Gulf of Maine and coastal northern New England.

If they’re successful, they can set the template for creating a sustainable farmed source of uni, ready to be exported around the world as the market, especially in Asia, continues to grow.

Green sea urchin broodstock held in a recirculating tank at the University of Maine’s Center of Cooperative Aquaculture Research. Photo by Coleen Suckling.

Why sea urchins in New England?

Green sea urchins were once as common in New England waters as Vineyard Vines swim trunks on a hot summer day. In 1995, Maine’s sea urchin harvest, which was mostly wild, was 34 million pounds and worth $35.6 million, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources. In 2019, it had dropped to 1.7 million pounds worth $5.8 million.

Blame the usual suspects: fishing pressure and “a phase shift in the bottom where the new ecotype was less hospitable to settling urchin larvae,” said Dana Morse of the Maine Sea Grant Marine Extension Team. Heavy seaweed gave predators cover “so even if an urchin larva does settle out and attaches to something, there are a lot of hungry things looking to munch on a small urchin.”

Sea urchins are herbivores that in the northwest Atlantic Ocean primarily eat seaweed and algae, which is why researchers also see them as part of an overall effort to clean up New England’s exploited ecosystems.

They are also able to survive in a more alkaline waters, as oceans are becoming as they absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, said Suckling.

“Urchins have been shown to cope well with climate change. They can grow even bigger edible uni (gonads) in those conditions,” she said. “They are fairly resilient.”

Green sea urchin larvae as seen under a microscope. Photo by Coleen Suckling.

The uni market

There’s also an exploding demand for uni, which are the sea urchin gonads, the only edible part of the animal. The biggest market for uni been in Japan, which takes 80 to 90 percent of the international global supply, according to Matis Iceland. But the interest in uni is growing, especially in China.(continues...)

Author: Jen A. Miller / Global Aquaculture Advocate | Read the full article by clicking the link here

editorial@seafood.media
www.seafood.media

Print