Eating Sea Urchins Could Restore the Ocean’s Ecosystem
Contrary to reports that conservation is the only way to save our oceans, one company’s hypothesis suggests that eating more sea urchins (urchin roe or uni in Japanese) could actually help restore balance in the aquatic ecosystem. Urchinomics (the aptly named organization testing this theory) found urchins thriving in waters now abandoned by predators due to pollution, heating or overfishing. Increased urchin populations means trouble for kelp forests, which act as the ocean carbon filter but are also devoured by hungry urchins. To restore the forests, Urchinomics suggests moving the excess urchins to on-lands farm where they’re fed—it takes a minimal amount of all-natural feed for urchins to grow—and harvested for human consumption. Removing the rampant population from the ocean will allow for regeneration of the ocean’s broader ecosystem, and restaurant-quality uni at a more affordable price point. Read more at TreeHugger.
Via treehugger.com link opens in a new window
