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and quality is captured from the inshore waters of the Japanese island of Hokkaido,
where almost half of the Japanese sea urchin harvest is landed. Because of its traditional role in Japanese cuisine and the relative scarcity of urchins, uni is considered
a delicacy (Sun and Chiang 2015).
It has been reported that sea urchin roes are one of the popular taste and flavours
of Mediterranean cuisine and Italians mix the sea urchin eggs with various sauces
and serve them with pasta (Grisolia et al. 2012).Sea urchin is consumed in
Mediterranean countries in a variety of ways such as blended into sauces, with
pasta, breads or used as an ingredient in various dishes. Sea urchins have also found
popularity outside the traditional markets with increasing ethnic populations and the
growing popularity of sushi restaurants (Stefansson et al. 2017).
Sea urchin roes are also a popular product in the United States. The state of
California is an important fishery centre for the red sea urchin and offers fresh roe
to regional markets. California urchins are also exported to Asian markets in substantial amounts (Grisolia et al. 2012). On the United States Pacific Coast, red,
purple, and green sea urchins are commercially harvested. On the Atlantic Coast,
only green sea urchins are commercially harvested (Price 2000).
Many areas of Southern and Western Australia are home to the purple sea urchin
Heliocidaris erythrogramma, generally considered to be the highest quality local
urchin. As with urchins caught in the United States, Australian urchins of particularly high quality are often exported to the lucrative Japanese market. Moreover,
like the United States, the development of an export market to Japan was followed
by the growth of a larger domestic market in Australia for urchin roe than seen in
decades past.
In Europe, France, Italy, and Spain are the leaders in terms of sea urchin consumption. The purple sea urchin species favoured in France, Paracentrotus lividus,
is harvested from the Atlantic and Mediterranean areas as well as in Ireland.
Sphaerechinus granularis (purple sea urchin) is mainly harvested in the Netherlands
and France. Psammechinus miliaris is harvested from the Atlantic coast of France
and Strongylocenrotus droebachiensis from Iceland, Norway (Monfort 2002).
Prices of sea urchins vary with some factors such as appearance, colour, flavour,
texture, species, region of harvest, demand and distribution and processing (Sun and
Chiang 2015; Stefansson et al. 2017).
4.2.1.4 Fishery of Sea Urchins
Sea urchins are commonly found in the mid to low intertidal zone, at depths up to
about 50 m. They prefer rocky substrate and are often found in and around kelp
beds. Scuba diving is most common technique used for fishing sea urchins around
the world. It requires basic SCUBA equipment to dive to depths between 2 and 20 m
and although depths as far as 40 m can be achieved shallower depths are most common. This type of diving can be made using single or double tanks and using basic
compressed air or mixed gases to extend dive times. There are many restrictions in
4 Echinoderms
and quality is captured from the inshore waters of the Japanese island of Hokkaido,
where almost half of the Japanese sea urchin harvest is landed. Because of its traditional role in Japanese cuisine and the relative scarcity of urchins, uni is considered
a delicacy (Sun and Chiang 2015).
It has been reported that sea urchin roes are one of the popular taste and flavours
of Mediterranean cuisine and Italians mix the sea urchin eggs with various sauces
and serve them with pasta (Grisolia et al. 2012).Sea urchin is consumed in
Mediterranean countries in a variety of ways such as blended into sauces, with
pasta, breads or used as an ingredient in various dishes. Sea urchins have also found
popularity outside the traditional markets with increasing ethnic populations and the
growing popularity of sushi restaurants (Stefansson et al. 2017).
Sea urchin roes are also a popular product in the United States. The state of
California is an important fishery centre for the red sea urchin and offers fresh roe
to regional markets. California urchins are also exported to Asian markets in substantial amounts (Grisolia et al. 2012). On the United States Pacific Coast, red,
purple, and green sea urchins are commercially harvested. On the Atlantic Coast,
only green sea urchins are commercially harvested (Price 2000).
Many areas of Southern and Western Australia are home to the purple sea urchin
Heliocidaris erythrogramma, generally considered to be the highest quality local
urchin. As with urchins caught in the United States, Australian urchins of particularly high quality are often exported to the lucrative Japanese market. Moreover,
like the United States, the development of an export market to Japan was followed
by the growth of a larger domestic market in Australia for urchin roe than seen in
decades past.
In Europe, France, Italy, and Spain are the leaders in terms of sea urchin consumption. The purple sea urchin species favoured in France, Paracentrotus lividus,
is harvested from the Atlantic and Mediterranean areas as well as in Ireland.
Sphaerechinus granularis (purple sea urchin) is mainly harvested in the Netherlands
and France. Psammechinus miliaris is harvested from the Atlantic coast of France
and Strongylocenrotus droebachiensis from Iceland, Norway (Monfort 2002).
Prices of sea urchins vary with some factors such as appearance, colour, flavour,
texture, species, region of harvest, demand and distribution and processing (Sun and
Chiang 2015; Stefansson et al. 2017).
4.2.1.4 Fishery of Sea Urchins
Sea urchins are commonly found in the mid to low intertidal zone, at depths up to
about 50 m. They prefer rocky substrate and are often found in and around kelp
beds. Scuba diving is most common technique used for fishing sea urchins around
the world. It requires basic SCUBA equipment to dive to depths between 2 and 20 m
and although depths as far as 40 m can be achieved shallower depths are most common. This type of diving can be made using single or double tanks and using basic
compressed air or mixed gases to extend dive times. There are many restrictions in
4 Echinoderms