Coleen Suckling, an associate professor of aquaculture and fisheries at the University of Rhode Island, is pushing for increased awareness of the potential of sea urchin farming to provide producers with additional income whilst also improving their operational efficiency.
Whilst the spiny echinoderms have long been viewed as pests by farmers and fishers, research has suggested that sea urchins can actually improve seafood production, for example by reducing biofouling on scallop cages.
Devoting her time to raising awareness of sea urchin farming, Suckling has forged a partnership with the University of Maine's Centre for Cooperative Aquaculture Research (CCAR), which hosts the region's only urchin hatchery. Throughout the partnership Suckling, along with CCAR director Steve Eddy, has worked to produce viable urchin seed that can be distributed for free, along with consulting expertise, to aquaculture producers.
"It’s a nice partnership because this is where universities are ready to offer tools such as space for the research. With these tools available, we can investigate many different avenues, and let industry know what worked best," said Suckling, as reported by the University of Rhode Island.
"We have had some good success so far. I was just talking to the permitting agency in Maine, and they said they were seeing more and more people adding sea urchins into their applications just in case they decide to engage in sea urchin production. People are talking about it, people are interested, which is really motivating,” Suckling said.
Going forward, Suckling and her students aim to support the resilience of the sea urchin farming industry in the face of the changing global climate. By exposing urchins to varying levels of controlled stress, such as by altering water temperatures or pH levels, they hope to create a practised response for future stress events.
"The Gulf of Maine is normally a subarctic system but it’s getting very, very warm. It’s one of the five fastest warming regions in the world. I hope to help the industry build their resilience, maintaining livelihoods, and produce seafoods that keep people healthy, and that people can get access to without a high environmental cost," Suckling concluded.
