He hopes UNH will have an active sea urchin aquaculture hatchery in operation by early 2002. Currently there is only one hatchery in operation in the region. Located in Lubec, Maine, and operated by Peacock Canning Co., it is a side effort in a salmon hatchery. Natural settlement of urchins occurs in June and July in the Gulf of Maine, and this is also when outplanting might be expected to take place. The alternate plan is to outplant urchins in the winter when urchin predators are inactive.
Initial results suggest that winter outplanting is effective and further trials are planned.
By outplanting early, however, the sea urchins' reproductive cycles are out of sync. This is a problem that researchers Charles Walker, UNH professor of zoology, and Michael Lesser, UNH associate professor of zoology, are addressing with funding from Sea Grant, the UNH Agricultural Experiment Station and the U.S. Department of Commerce. Thus, the urchins can be outplanted earlier while the water is still very cold, sharply reducing the activity of predators and allowing the urchins time to become established. Walker has been using his knowledge of the urchin reproductive system to develop land-based techniques to be used in the industry for producing optimal uni. While Japan is the largest market for uni, there are smaller markets in France, Belgium, Greece, Italy and Turkey.