ResUrch - what do you know about sea urchins?

Sea urchin roe is considered a luxury product and a source for protein and healthy fat, which sells for lucrative prices in worldwide markets including Asia (particularly Japan), Australasia, many European regions, and increasingly in South and North America. Because the demand for sea urchin roe – called “uni” in sushi bars – has grown dramatically over the past decade, many traditional fisheries have been heavily overfished and subsequently virtually depleted of sea urchins. The aquaculture of the European species Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis (the green sea urchin) and Paracentrotus lividus (the purple sea urchin) is still under development. Some of the factors limiting the development of aquaculture of sea urchins are the natural slow growth rates, requiring almost two years from the juvenile stage to market size and the need to grow juveniles in land-based facilities. In order to overcome these bottlenecks, a project has been founded within the FP7 Capacities framework (projects targeted to SMEs) for a period of two years, which has started in January , 2014. There has been much interest in the production of sea urchins through aquaculture. In the RESURCH, project we intend to develop the technology required to make commercial sea urchin production a reality across Europe. The project will use cutting edge research from leaders in the field to address industry defined bottlenecks in sea urchin aquaculture. For more info: http://resurchproject.com/