Hi Everyone,
I've gone on a couple dives recently where every nook and cranny seemed to be infested with purple sea urchins. There were absolutely tons of them, like 50-100 in 100 square feet. There was still kelp and it was healthy but I wondered how long that would last.
So I had a few questions.
1. What benefits do purple sea urchins provide to the eco-system? I know the harm they cause, but what are they good for? Also, this is in SoCal where there are no sea otters that munch on them. I know other things eat them like sheephead, but I can't think of their population being that out of control ever being a good thing.
2. Is there any commercial value for purple urchins? I would think so, but if their population is that out of control, I would think they're not fished for a reason
3. If there is value for them, is there reasonible demand for their uni? Would it be easy to fish them and line up a buyer?
What I was thinking is that it would be fun to dive for urchins on the weekend (I work a job full time so this would just be a fun way for me to mess around while making some extra cash). I feel that my partner and I could easily load hundreds, maybe a thousand, into my boat on a two tank dive. Then sell them and make some good cash.
I would do this until I get bored of it then just go back to sight seeing diving. Well, I'd make sure I pay off the commercial fishing license first haha.
Thanks
I've gone on a couple dives recently where every nook and cranny seemed to be infested with purple sea urchins. There were absolutely tons of them, like 50-100 in 100 square feet. There was still kelp and it was healthy but I wondered how long that would last.
So I had a few questions.
1. What benefits do purple sea urchins provide to the eco-system? I know the harm they cause, but what are they good for? Also, this is in SoCal where there are no sea otters that munch on them. I know other things eat them like sheephead, but I can't think of their population being that out of control ever being a good thing.
2. Is there any commercial value for purple urchins? I would think so, but if their population is that out of control, I would think they're not fished for a reason
3. If there is value for them, is there reasonible demand for their uni? Would it be easy to fish them and line up a buyer?
What I was thinking is that it would be fun to dive for urchins on the weekend (I work a job full time so this would just be a fun way for me to mess around while making some extra cash). I feel that my partner and I could easily load hundreds, maybe a thousand, into my boat on a two tank dive. Then sell them and make some good cash.
I would do this until I get bored of it then just go back to sight seeing diving. Well, I'd make sure I pay off the commercial fishing license first haha.
Thanks