Increasing income through new technology development for sea urchin fishermen

This Report summarizes the findings of an 18 month long FIG grant aimed at helping sea urchin fishermen in the New England region. At the time the grant was applied for, the sea urchin industry in New England had just gone through a dramatic period of growth. Fishermen were harvesting urchins either by diving or dragging and having to sell them immediately to processors. Having a method for holding urchins and to potentially increase their roe content would give fishermen a considerable benefit in determining the market price of their catch. Our grant was aimed at developing such a method. In addition, because there were reports from divers of extensive damage caused by dragging for urchins, we investigated the potential of trapping as an alternative, non-destructive method of harvesting urchins. Grant no. NA56FK0107