SeafoodSource: Sea urchin ranching to be expanded to semi-commercial scale
Sea urchin ranching innovator Urchinomics is establishing a semi-commercial scale feeding facility in Japan’s Oita Prefecture.
The concept behind the farm is to harvest empty sea urchins from areas where kelp beds have been overeaten, and feed them in a land-based facility until they grow to marketable size. When sea urchins overgraze kelp beds, they eat themselves out of their food source. But rather than die from starvation, they can survive for long periods with little or no food, though the contents of their spiny shells are reduced, making them unmarketable as uni.