UCC scientists exploit sea urchin market

THE $200 million global market for sea urchins is to be exploited by scientists from UCC using a new farming system.

Though almost extinct in the wild due to over-harvesting, UCC plans to tap into this market through patents it has set up in 19 countries.

Though never popular here, Ireland was a major European exporter of wild sea urchins in the 1970s and 1980s when several hundred tonnes was exported annually. Due to over-harvesting, the Irish wild stocks crashed in 1996 and Ireland exports less than 10 tonnes a year, but the situation may be about to change.

Over the past seven years, using funding from Enterprise Ireland, researchers in UCC have developed the world’s first and only system for culturing sea urchins, called the UrchinPlatter System.

The new technologyallows farmers to culture sea urchins quickly and efficiently. By using only natural seaweed as feed, the system avoids the use of artificial diets, which have caused problems in other types of marine farming.

“The potential for this type of sea urchin technology is huge,” states Dr Gerry Mouzakitis, founder of Gourmet Marine Ltd. “Wherever you look in the world, wild sea urchin stocks are over-harvested and are not sustainable.

“The UrchinPlatter System can change all that and allow the production of a healthy, natural seafood product that doesn’t harm the marine environment.”

Apart from being the first sea urchin farming technology in the world, it also happens to be the first aquaculture technology ever developed in Ireland.

“Ireland is currently the world leader in sea urchin farming. We want to maintain that lead,” says Dr Mouzakitis.

Gourmet Marine recently partnered with Dunmanus Seafoods Ltd (Durrus, Co Cork) and produced the first out-of-season sea urchins.

“To really market test them, we organised a Sea Urchin Tasting Meeting”, says Dr Mouzakitis.

“The response from the seafood chefs was fantastic. They loved them!”