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.