RasTech: Japanese startup develops plan to stop marine damage caused by sea urchins
Coastal kelp forests provide fertile breeding grounds for various species of fish and other organisms. Unfortunately, many of these marine habitats are disappearing faster than rainforests. Sea urchins are partly to blame.
They feast on the kelp until an entire area is down to bare rock. After gobbling up the food around them, the sea urchins starve and become empty. In this dormant stage, the barren sea urchins have no economic value for fishers and contain little nutrients for predators.