California Red Sea Urchin
(Strongylocentrotus franciscanus)
Adrian Coates
"I am concerned about the air we breathe and the water we drink. If overfishing continues, if pollution continues, many of these species will disappear off the face of the Earth."
- Bernie Marcus |
Taxonomy
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Echinodermata Class: Echinoidea Order: Echinoida Family: Strongylocentrotidae Genus: Strongylocentrotus Species: franciscanus |
There are about 700 different species of sea urchins. They inhabit the bottom of the sea floor where they move with tubed feet. Sea urchins feed mainly on kelp and use their long spines to capture that kelp and protect them from its predators. Red sea urchins are one of the most important species of these sea urchins as they are a big part of fisheries. They have the biggest bodies of any other species with a spine size of about 7cm, about 20 cm in diameter, and 17 cm tests.
Found on the Gulf of Alaska, Baja, California, and northern Japan, red sea urchins have been fished since the 1970s. Japanese markets found that the sea urchins gonads, or roe, were delectable, so they began to create fisheries that centered on catching sea urchins. In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a huge boom in this fishery where over 50 million pounds of red sea urchins were caught and sold. If these numbers continue to increase, sea urchins will become overfished and eventually extinct.
Therefore, organizations such as the Pacific Urchin Harvesters Association, or PUHA, make it their priority to protect these red sea urchins. There are also laws forming in fisheries limiting the amount of diving license and limit the times in which sea urchins can be caught. As long as these efforts are kept up, sea urchins have a chance to survive.
Found on the Gulf of Alaska, Baja, California, and northern Japan, red sea urchins have been fished since the 1970s. Japanese markets found that the sea urchins gonads, or roe, were delectable, so they began to create fisheries that centered on catching sea urchins. In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a huge boom in this fishery where over 50 million pounds of red sea urchins were caught and sold. If these numbers continue to increase, sea urchins will become overfished and eventually extinct.
Therefore, organizations such as the Pacific Urchin Harvesters Association, or PUHA, make it their priority to protect these red sea urchins. There are also laws forming in fisheries limiting the amount of diving license and limit the times in which sea urchins can be caught. As long as these efforts are kept up, sea urchins have a chance to survive.
Sea urchins are marine invertebrates that live on the bottom of the sea floor. They are classified under the Kingdom Animalia, Phylum Echinodermata, and Class Echinoidea. There are about 700 different species of sea urchins that move slowly across the bottom of the ocean. They can usually be found living in clumps of five or ten organisms. Sea urchins have suckers, or tubed feet that help them stick to the sea floor so that they can move freely. Their bodies are five-sided radial shape and their skin has chalky, hard plates that are called tests. During development, urchins go from being completely symmetrical (radially symmetrical) to having only two planes of symmetry (bilaterally symmetrical). The long spines that extend from their bodies are used for protection against predators that try to eat them, such as crabs, sea otters, and sunflower stars. These spines are on long, flexible stocks that look like little claws. Their spines are also used for trapping the food that they eat.
Sea urchins have claw like mouths that are located on the bottom of their bodies, with a special jaw known as Aristotle’s lantern. Their diet consists of seaweeds, kelp, and algae; they are able to scrape them from the bottom of the sea floor. Since their mouths are on the bottom, their anus and genital pores are located at the top of their bodies. Therefore, the waste is released from the top of the sea urchin. When it is time for reproduction between June and September, sea urchins spawn and their eggs are fertilized in the water. The eggs float around the in the ocean for about a month before the float down and settle on the bottom where they will spend the rest of their lives. Sea urchins have a lifespan of about 30 years. Interestingly, their bodies are very sensitive to water quality that they are used to monitor pollution levels in water.
One species of importance is the red sea urchins, or Strongylocentrotus franciscanus to fisheries. They are given this name because their bodies range from being red to a dark burgundy. These urchins have the largest bodies of the sea urchin family averaging a spine size of about 7cm, about 20 cm in diameter, and 17 cm tests. They are usually found in the Gulf of Alaska to Isla, Baja California, and in northern Japan. Red sea urchins make their homes on rocky reefs that are primarily around kelp, in the low intertidal zone. These sea urchins are usually found in deeper waters than the other species of sea urchins. Sometimes, red sea urchins gather in groups of large numbers called a "feeding front." These groups move slowly over the sea floor grazing on the kelp forests. Once they decimate the kelp forests, it creates an urchin barren.
Sea urchins have claw like mouths that are located on the bottom of their bodies, with a special jaw known as Aristotle’s lantern. Their diet consists of seaweeds, kelp, and algae; they are able to scrape them from the bottom of the sea floor. Since their mouths are on the bottom, their anus and genital pores are located at the top of their bodies. Therefore, the waste is released from the top of the sea urchin. When it is time for reproduction between June and September, sea urchins spawn and their eggs are fertilized in the water. The eggs float around the in the ocean for about a month before the float down and settle on the bottom where they will spend the rest of their lives. Sea urchins have a lifespan of about 30 years. Interestingly, their bodies are very sensitive to water quality that they are used to monitor pollution levels in water.
One species of importance is the red sea urchins, or Strongylocentrotus franciscanus to fisheries. They are given this name because their bodies range from being red to a dark burgundy. These urchins have the largest bodies of the sea urchin family averaging a spine size of about 7cm, about 20 cm in diameter, and 17 cm tests. They are usually found in the Gulf of Alaska to Isla, Baja California, and in northern Japan. Red sea urchins make their homes on rocky reefs that are primarily around kelp, in the low intertidal zone. These sea urchins are usually found in deeper waters than the other species of sea urchins. Sometimes, red sea urchins gather in groups of large numbers called a "feeding front." These groups move slowly over the sea floor grazing on the kelp forests. Once they decimate the kelp forests, it creates an urchin barren.
Sea urchins have what is called a roe, or its gonad, and, according to the Japanese, it had a tangy taste that is similar to lobster. Ever since, they have become a Japanese sushi delicacy. In the 1970s, California fisheries focused on harvesting and capturing kelp as valuable resource. The fishermen began to notice that the kelp population was steadily declining. They realized that sea urchins were devouring the kelp, thus causing them to lose money and kelp. As a result, these fishermen started collecting these sea urchins and destroying them so that they would stop taking all of the kelp that they wanted to sell. After discovering that Asian markets actually used sea urchins as a delectable item, the fisheries stopped destroying the sea urchins and began selling them.
In 1978, British Columbia began its red sea urchin fishery. Fishing usually occurred in the coast of British Columbia until 1983, when the north coast opened its fishery. The red sea urchin capture increased rapidly in the 1980s, but in 1993, the number dropped because of the quotas that were established.
In 1995, South East Alaska realized that a fishery conducted an evaluation of the economic profits of 3 million pound sea urchin test in the Ketchikan area, they jumped on the investment. In 1988, Japan imported 9,000 metric tons of sea urchins; and by 1993, Japan imported 15,000 sea urchins. Red sea urchin fisheries then began to spread to Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. The first sea urchins were harvested in Oregon in 1986, and by 1994, 9.3 million pounds were harvested.
This fishery began to boom at an extremely fast pace. A majority of the sea urchins caught were sold to Asian markets, and Japan ships its sea urchins to the United States. However, after the big boom of sea urchin fishing, the numbers decline significantly, but not enough to stop the declining of the overall population of red sea urchins. This huge decline has been said to be caused by El Niño. El Niño conditions dramatically affect kelp bed communities and the sea urchin fishery. These waves The effects the kelp forests that were greatly reduced or eliminated due to high temperatures, low nutrient levels and wave damage from intense storms. Until the kelp beds recovered, urchin gonads were in poor and in unmarketable condition. Strong El Niño events peaked in 1940, 1958, 1983. 1992, and 1997 and sea urchin fishery landings dropped just after.
Today, they are mainly fished near or in California where there are 500 licensed sea urchin divers. If the rate of capture continues to increase, then these sea urchins will become overfished, and potentially lead to a dramatic decrease of the sea urchin populations.
In 1978, British Columbia began its red sea urchin fishery. Fishing usually occurred in the coast of British Columbia until 1983, when the north coast opened its fishery. The red sea urchin capture increased rapidly in the 1980s, but in 1993, the number dropped because of the quotas that were established.
In 1995, South East Alaska realized that a fishery conducted an evaluation of the economic profits of 3 million pound sea urchin test in the Ketchikan area, they jumped on the investment. In 1988, Japan imported 9,000 metric tons of sea urchins; and by 1993, Japan imported 15,000 sea urchins. Red sea urchin fisheries then began to spread to Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. The first sea urchins were harvested in Oregon in 1986, and by 1994, 9.3 million pounds were harvested.
This fishery began to boom at an extremely fast pace. A majority of the sea urchins caught were sold to Asian markets, and Japan ships its sea urchins to the United States. However, after the big boom of sea urchin fishing, the numbers decline significantly, but not enough to stop the declining of the overall population of red sea urchins. This huge decline has been said to be caused by El Niño. El Niño conditions dramatically affect kelp bed communities and the sea urchin fishery. These waves The effects the kelp forests that were greatly reduced or eliminated due to high temperatures, low nutrient levels and wave damage from intense storms. Until the kelp beds recovered, urchin gonads were in poor and in unmarketable condition. Strong El Niño events peaked in 1940, 1958, 1983. 1992, and 1997 and sea urchin fishery landings dropped just after.
Today, they are mainly fished near or in California where there are 500 licensed sea urchin divers. If the rate of capture continues to increase, then these sea urchins will become overfished, and potentially lead to a dramatic decrease of the sea urchin populations.
Today, the red sea urchin fishery is still flourishing, however it is not booming like it was in the 1980-1990 time frames. Fisheries have found that if they catch the red sea urchins between October and May they will receive better roe. The roe is better because they are not yet ready to spawn. As seen in the chart below, the red sea urchin fishing slowly started in the 1970s when the roe was found to be useful in Japan, to a dramatic boom around 1989 when the United States began to make tons of money off of about 55 million pounds of these Japanese delicacies. The boom declined shortly after because the population almost became overfished. Also, unlike in the past, in today’s fisheries, there are a lot more restrictions on when divers can dive, where they can dive, and how much they can capture.
Currently, this fishery has stabilized to a little over ten million pounds sold yearly. In 1989, the sea urchin fishery sold $2,728,272 worth of roe, but in 1998 the amount of money made decreased drastically to about $152,175. Even though this number is not as large as it was before, that is still a lot of sea urchins being captured and sold.
These numbers may have increased because of the restrictions put on the red sea urchin fishery due to the overfishing during the boom in 1989. In California, the harvesting areas are now separated into districts, and these districts have certain season in which they can catch sea urchins, and they are limited to how much they can catch. Districts 1&2 consists of the San Juan Island area caught 172,399 pounds of red sea urchins, while District 4, the Sekiu area, caught 43,277 pounds.
In Japan today, they export more than 80% of the world’s sea urchin roe. In the United States, there is also an excessive amount of red sea urchins that are being fished and exported. The California Department of Fish and Game have started regulating the number of diving licenses, the time when sea urchins can be harvested, and the size of the sea urchins that can be caught. The diameters of the tests in the South Monterey County must be 8.3cm, in northern California, they must be 8.9cm, and in British Columbia, the legal size is 7cm.
Despite this being a very new fishery, these red sea urchins are at risk of not being able to constantly reproduce and increase their population.
Currently, this fishery has stabilized to a little over ten million pounds sold yearly. In 1989, the sea urchin fishery sold $2,728,272 worth of roe, but in 1998 the amount of money made decreased drastically to about $152,175. Even though this number is not as large as it was before, that is still a lot of sea urchins being captured and sold.
These numbers may have increased because of the restrictions put on the red sea urchin fishery due to the overfishing during the boom in 1989. In California, the harvesting areas are now separated into districts, and these districts have certain season in which they can catch sea urchins, and they are limited to how much they can catch. Districts 1&2 consists of the San Juan Island area caught 172,399 pounds of red sea urchins, while District 4, the Sekiu area, caught 43,277 pounds.
In Japan today, they export more than 80% of the world’s sea urchin roe. In the United States, there is also an excessive amount of red sea urchins that are being fished and exported. The California Department of Fish and Game have started regulating the number of diving licenses, the time when sea urchins can be harvested, and the size of the sea urchins that can be caught. The diameters of the tests in the South Monterey County must be 8.3cm, in northern California, they must be 8.9cm, and in British Columbia, the legal size is 7cm.
Despite this being a very new fishery, these red sea urchins are at risk of not being able to constantly reproduce and increase their population.
Due to the fact that fisheries are constantly capturing large amounts of these red sea urchins, certain laws have been enforced and marine organizations have stepped in to protect them. Luckily, organizations have taken notice of their drastic decline and have decided to do something about it. An organization that seeks out to protect the sea urchins is the Pacific Urchin Harvesters Association, or PUHA. Since 1994, PUHA has represented the interests of license eligibility holders that deal with marketing and fishery sustainability. This group is also a part of another group known as Red Sea Urchin Sectoral Committee which provides advice on issues related to commercial fisheries. Alaska is also joining in the effort to restore these slowly declining sea urchins.
In 1996, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game partnered with the sea urchin industry in order to set interim regulations and a management plan for the Southeastern Alaskan commercial sea urchin fisheries. The Alaska Board of Fisheries also adopted the red sea urchin management plan which lays out guidelines such as the fact that the fishery is to be managed to span of four months in order to promote fishery development. The size limits and trip limits may be imposed if there is a need to slow the pace of the fishery. After further research, Japan fisheries and markets have not enforced any rules, guidelines, or restrictions for the overfishing of the red sea urchins.
Another method that is being discussed by scientist, fisheries, and protective organizations is the idea of aquaculture. Aquaculture is “farming” of aquatic organisms in order to restore some of their population after being overfished. Sea urchin aquaculture has already started in Europe and Asia, however, red sea urchins in the United States have not. This process calls for a large monetary investment and a lot of time by the “farmers” of the marine organisms. This method can also be used to increase the amount of sea urchin roes that are sold causing the fishery to increase. This would cause for less capturing in the Pacific Ocean and further declining the population.
Overall, the sea urchin population is steadily decreasing, but if organizations such as PUHA continue to enforce its rules, the red sea urchin population can stabilize and attempt to slowly increase their population. Things will never be as they once were for the sea urchins, but things are starting to get better for them and their future is promising.
In 1996, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game partnered with the sea urchin industry in order to set interim regulations and a management plan for the Southeastern Alaskan commercial sea urchin fisheries. The Alaska Board of Fisheries also adopted the red sea urchin management plan which lays out guidelines such as the fact that the fishery is to be managed to span of four months in order to promote fishery development. The size limits and trip limits may be imposed if there is a need to slow the pace of the fishery. After further research, Japan fisheries and markets have not enforced any rules, guidelines, or restrictions for the overfishing of the red sea urchins.
Another method that is being discussed by scientist, fisheries, and protective organizations is the idea of aquaculture. Aquaculture is “farming” of aquatic organisms in order to restore some of their population after being overfished. Sea urchin aquaculture has already started in Europe and Asia, however, red sea urchins in the United States have not. This process calls for a large monetary investment and a lot of time by the “farmers” of the marine organisms. This method can also be used to increase the amount of sea urchin roes that are sold causing the fishery to increase. This would cause for less capturing in the Pacific Ocean and further declining the population.
Overall, the sea urchin population is steadily decreasing, but if organizations such as PUHA continue to enforce its rules, the red sea urchin population can stabilize and attempt to slowly increase their population. Things will never be as they once were for the sea urchins, but things are starting to get better for them and their future is promising.
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