High Tide Aquatics

Tired of accidently killing critters? Want to hunt urchins? Are you scuba certified?

H2OPlayar

H2OPlayar

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I went diving today in Monterey and killed at least 20 purple urchins with my knife. So fun, and so satisfying to feel the crunch, then see the bright orange uni. I was off Breakwater beach at ~35 feet doing my advanced open water cert. Anyone interested in joining me for a dive sometime soon to urchin hunt? It wasn't that cold during the day. The night dive was another story, but there were thousands of comb jellies swimming around, which was amazing.

Fun fact, after 65ish dives, this was my first legitimate time using my dive knife for something. And yes, it feels as cool as it looks having a titanium knife strapped to my calf.

Let's go dive!



storymaps.arcgis.com

S'urchin' for Kelp Restoration Solutions in Monterey Bay

Sea urchins have destroyed nearly all of Monterey's kelp forests. Here's what we can do to H.E.L.P the kelp!
storymaps.arcgis.com storymaps.arcgis.com

www.montereycountyweekly.com

Sea urchins are killing Monterey Bay’s kelp forests. Help is on the way, with hammers.

Keith Rootsaert has been diving in Monterey Bay since the 1980s. By the early 2010s, he began noticing the decimation of the bay’s giant kelp forests.
www.montereycountyweekly.com www.montereycountyweekly.com

www.npr.org

In Hotter Climate, 'Zombie' Urchins Are Winning And Kelp Forests Are Losing

Kelp forests along Northern California have almost vanished. Divers and scientists are racing to stop purple sea urchins from taking over critical habitat.
www.npr.org www.npr.org
 
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No, they don't like you filming when you are doing a class to stay focused on the tasks at hand. They don't mind though if when your partner is practicing underwater knot skills, you anchor yourself to a nearby rock with an urchin infestation and go to town!
 
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Thanks for sharing this, it’s shocking how fast climate change is altering the environment. “Since 2014, 95 percent of the kelp have vanished across a large part of Northern California”

It was interesting to hear that urchins can live a long time without food. That’s probably why I see snails dying but never urchins when the algae gets thin in my tanks.
 
No sharks or orcas in the bay, but we did see two dolphins during the day as well as lots of seals, sea lions, otters. It seemed like the seals were using our lights at night to help them hunt.
 
Red urchins = edible and sought after (Uni is their gonads) but now relatively rare
Purple urchins = not sought after and causing current kelp catastrophe

People are finding you can eat the purple urchin gonads but mostly farm raised, the wild ones go through starvation cycles (aka zombie urchins) where their gonads shrink and don’t taste as good. So I’ve read. Maybe they just need a rebranding, zombie gonads don’t sound so good to me either.
 
JVU said:
Red urchins = edible and sought after (Uni is their gonads) but now relatively rare
Purple urchins = not sought after and causing current kelp catastrophe

People are finding you can eat the purple urchin gonads but mostly farm raised, the wild ones go through starvation cycles (aka zombie urchins) where their gonads shrink and don’t taste as good. So I’ve read. Maybe they just need a rebranding, zombie gonads don’t sound so good to me either.
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Stop calling me a purple urchin and talking bad about my reproductive organs
 
Coral reefer said:
Stop calling me a purple urchin and talking bad about my reproductive organs
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No.

Arvin R said:
I'd love to take classes and learn to dive! No experience yet.
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Do it! Come join me, lots of local shops that can certify you and the expensive gear can be rented.

Bolicks said:
Is this doable with a snorkel? Very interested, but not certified :)
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How good are your lungs? And do you have a wetsuit, weight belt and fins for free diving? I saw most of them on rocks at ~30 plus feet.

NanoCrazed said:
Collect me some live urchins for my tanks! Heh
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If you make that cold water tank, and it is legal, I will be happy to. I did see a fish and game warden there talk to a couple people who were fishing with a kayak. Searched all their holds and checked their papers.

CaseyP said:
Are urchins from our waters here edible uni sushi grade? :oops:
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The ones I split definitely had orange "meat" inside of them, however the majority of the ones I saw were 2"-4", so relatively small.
 
@H2OPlayar i think the purple urchins are the same for both cold and warm temp zones. 40F - 78F tolerance from last i researched.

It's legal to collect urchins offshore but not in designated sanctuary zones... just can't remember if a fishing license is needed.
 
Yes a fishing license is required. Also I didn't know you dove. I would be down to go dive, let me know. @JVU From first hand experience I've never noticed a difference in taste. What I do notice is the amount of gonads that you would typically find in purple urchins is exactly like you say, either depleted from eating them themselves as they atrophy or with nothing, while in this state they are still able to reproduce and exasperate the problem. They starve a lot because they over populate then don't haver enough to eat. The way they behave its almost as if they are rabbits, except they live a long time without food.
 
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