According to FAO Fisheries & Aquaculture, the annual consumption of fish products is about 17 kg per capita with consumption destined to increase due to the effect of population growth.
Regarding fishing waste, it is estimated to exceed 20 million tonnes each year, about 25% of the annual world harvest. Most wild fish stocks are classified as fully exploited, with several species facing extinction. Moreover, a remarkable share of waste is represented by the discarded fish, which includes many species and by-catches. Therefore, this is an increasingly emerging problem, even because fish industries are suspected of being responsible for significant risk to the environment. In addition, t here are also species such as sea urchins, where waste is abundant due to the high content of inedible parts, such as shells, spines, and viscera. Lacking management of fish waste and overfishing have several negative implications on ecosystems and the protection of marine species (e.g., damage to habitats, illegal fishing, endangered fish species).
For the purposes of the research, a relatively niche market is considered in terms of volumes, that is of the sea urchin, which represents a very important food commodity for the culinary tradition of different regions of the world and for its high commercial value. Despite this commodity, belonging to the Echinoid class, is extremely high-profit, the aquaculture activities of the product remain very limited - about 1% of the total - compared to the almost 70,000 total t ons of sea urchins sold per year.
Therefore, the aim of this study is to analys e the transition from a linear system to the circular economy, providing an example of reuse of sea urchin waste for the creation of eco-sustainable products deriving from marine collagen obtained by sea urchin waste. Marine collagen is a valid support for production of biomedical devices, dermal implants, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products.
Although the research field and the experimental phases on collagen derived from sea urchin are still quite recent, the future prospect of the use of this product is very promising.
The reuse of sea urchin waste is, therefore, a clear example of how a circular economy model, capable of making profits and recycling of waste, can be adopted, thus enhancing the management of food waste and promoting new products to be destined in increasingly and promising markets.
Acknowledgements
This study was developed by University of Milan under the “Chain for Innovative Recycling: Sea Urchin Food By-Products for Zero Waste-Based Multiple Applications (CIRCULAr)” project, funded by Cariplo Foundation and “By-product Recycling for Innovative Technology from the Sea (BRITEs)” project, funded by MiUR.