Control of purple urchins

[chillyinCanada]

https://phys.org/news/2021-03-sea-otters-remnants-healthy-kelp.html

 

[wnissen]

https://phys.org/news/2021-03-sea-otters-remnants-healthy-kelp.html

There is a NOAA presentation tonight by Joshua Smith (from the article) on kelp and urchin barrens as part of the National Marine Sanctuaries Webinar Series. Dive into a Changing Ecosystem: From Lush Kelp Forests to Urchin Barrens, at 6 p.m. Pacific, 9 Eastern.

Tucked along California's coast is a vibrant underwater forest of towering kelp and diverse wildlife. In the last six years, unprecedented outbreaks of purple sea urchins have decimated kelp forests within Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, lending several questions: what caused the urchin outbreak? How have sea otters responded? Will intervention and urchin culling enhance kelp recovery? Through underwater photography and observations by Kate Vylet, a scientific discussion by Josh Smith, and a policy overview by Karen Grimmer, this talk will outline how science, art, and community observation intersect to inform the path forward.

I will be listening in, hope it's as interesting as it sounds.

 

[Centrals]

Healthy urchin can demand a hefty price in many countries.

Why we should be eating more purple sea urchins | The Splendid Table


Why sushi could be the solution to a sea urchin invasion

 

[fisheater]

Healthy urchin can demand a hefty price in many countries.

Why we should be eating more purple sea urchins | The Splendid Table


Why sushi could be the solution to a sea urchin invasion

That would be great, except for the fact that the damned urchins eat up all the kelp and then go into starvation/stasis mode. They just sit there, without any delicious innards, until some kelp somehow makes into the area and they eat it. Back to starvation/stasis mode. In that mode, they have zero commercial, recreational or culinary value. But they're the ones that we need to get rid of.

Only the healthy urchins have value and they are only found in healthy kelp forests.

 

[Centrals]

I know nothing about purple urchin.
Anecdote!

Locusts swarm, Crown of Thorns outbreak etc etc. If the conditions suit them then....nasty.