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Having had a 22 year career in the sea urchin diving business, I have lost two friends to diving episodes - one heart attack, one shark bite. Several others of us have died, or sustained moderate to severe injuries. Like you, our recreational counterparts, we're doing something we love to do...

Gastropodial? I can see I am communication with people who may have a higher degree of eurdition than me ... uni seems to be catching on to us non-asians these days. A SF based promoter is arranging a "sea urchin foraging expedition" in the early fall up here on the north coast. I'll be leading...

Yes, I agree that the state of California, in it’s approach to fisheries management, has always been inadequate. Part of the problem is revenue - for instance, in regards to permit numbers, first you need to know the formula for the decrease: you can’t simply take away...

Bob3 - wow, interesting, thorough, and informative! I hope you'll consider carrying my book on your online store (available in September). TK

The report you mention has a date of 1999 on it. All the data referenced dates are from 1985 through 1998, giving the most recent data in that report eight years old. Pete Kalvass, one of the co-authors, declared the urchin fishery in imminent danger of collapse back in 1985 (I happened to have...

one of the cool things about it, is that 15 years ago, 90% of uni went to Japan. Now, almost 80% stays in the USA. Plus, since the number of divers has gone from 900 to 300, the beds & reefs are much healthier. TK

I'm working with some of the California sea urchin processors, acting as a liason to some of the upscale sushi bars & finer restaraunts - promoting uni & trying to come up with new recipes for uni. I'm a ..... sea urchin advocate I guess.

Thanks for posting that recipe, coldwater. I'm working with some people trying to promote uni & that will be very helpful to us.

On an urchin diving expedition at Santa Rosa Island, 35 miles from home (Santa Barbara), I found a nice thick kelpbed, went to the bow, and threw the anchor. As the line was flying out of the anchor locker, my mind wandered & I watched the seagulls, not realizing that my deckhand had the boat in...

For me - too many to count. Here's one though: before I became a commercial diver, and was using a tank & BC, I got all my equipment together on the beach, suited up with my buddy, swam out to the kelpbed (a long-*** ways!), then found I couldn't get any air from my tank. After about ten...

I've been poked plenty over the years, as have my pals (California Reds - tropicas are much worse). I like to try to dig them out with a 25 or 27 ga. needle - even if you don't get it all, they usually fester & come out on their own. I've had some bad experience with the doctors, who sometimes...

You guys might be interested in the first book about sea urchin harvesting in California, Bluewater Gold Rush. I saw the greens up in Alaska during an urchin survey in'85 & I know they harvest them commercially in Maine, but we don't have them here in California. If you checkout the website...

Having written a book on the subject, I am now percieved as an expert on sea urchins (never really considered that - yikes!), but here's my two cents: both species are edible, and there is a commercial market for both, although the purple's are smaller, and have a very small demand. The...

Sounds like it's not too bad - he was able to fight it off & only had minor injuries to his arm. Lucky dude - he'll have a good story for his grandchildren. We were on the north shore last Feb - scored GREAT surf at Lani's & Kammi's. I went to Wahiawa intermediate when I lived there (about 100...

Bluewater Gold Rush, the first and only chronicle of the California sea urchin dive fishery. Several encounters with white sharks at the Farallon islands are recounted, as well as the 1991 attack on Dave Abernathy at Shelter Cove, Ron (Mr. Farallon Islands) Elliott, and the tragedy at Castle...

I love pangas! I've spent countless hours on them in Mexico - fine, seaworthy boats, easy to maintain, drive them right up on the beach, etc. I was a commercial diver (sea urchins) for 22 years off the California coast, so the boats we used were quite different - Radon boats, which are...