Loss of sea urchin biomass due to overfishing has led to loss of market share in the lucrative Japanese market. Natural recovery of stocks will not occur without the stock enhancement efforts and/or a complete shutdown of the fishery. A shutdown is not feasible because once the industry infrastructure is gone, it is unlikely to come back. The surviving harvesters, buyers and processors in this fishery are highly motivated to see this lucrative fishery prosper again. Aquaculture efforts are being supported by many of the remaining participants. OBJECTIVES: The State of Maine was the dominant supplier of the lucrative Japanese sea urchin roe market during the 1990's. The fishery of the green sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis, was second only to the lobster fishery in Maine during that decade, peaking in 1993 with an annual harvest of 50,000,000 pounds worth approximately $40,000,000 at first sale. Beginning in 2000-2001, Japanese processors began buying Russian urchins from the Kuril Islands and Maine's fishery suffered the effects of overfishing. Friendship International was the leading supplier of live sea urchins to the Japanese market during the 1990's but our business has suffered recently with the decline in the fishery here in Maine and the influx of Russian urchins. The Russians are harvesting in an unsustainable fashion and it is critical that Maine rebuilds its urchin stocks while the Japanese buy these Russian urchins. The Russians will exhaust their stocks quickly and the Japanese will look to Maine again at that time. We must have a viable fishery when that occurs if we are to regain our previous market share. There is growing consensus that the Maine urchin fishery will not be sustainable if left to recover naturally. Therefore, it is becoming obvious that aquaculture of sea urchins is the only way to enhance remaining wild populations and thereby restore the biomass to sufficient size to support a commercially viable fishery. APPROACH: We propose to conduct juvenile outplanting studies with both hatchery raised and wild settled urchin seed on various bottom types, aimed at optimizing returns and growth. We also plan to build a pilot scale hatchery and broodstock conditioning unit and to produce out of season spawning broodstock urchins. We will develop site selection criteria for potential bottom lease sites based on knowledge of urchin biology and ecology, potential user conflicts and information provided by experienced urchin divers. Based on this information, we will apply for lease sites in the Penobscot Bay area and other areas within the Gulf of Maine. We have assembled a specialized team comprised of sea urchin exporters with knowledge of the products and market, urchin harvesters, a leading urchin biologist and a group of experienced aquaculture professionals to undertake this work
