The green sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis is native of the Gulf of Maine and supports a fishery that back in the early 90s has its peaked landings with about 39 million of pounds with a value of about 23.5 million . The fisheries has declining since then and in 2022 was worth 2.7 million in 2022 with about 834,580 pound at landing.
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The University of Maine – Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research (UMaine-CCAR) developed a pilot-scale hatchery in 2006 providi ng juvenile urchins (5-10 mm diameter test) for trials as a sole crop or in a combination with oysters, scallops or seaweed to growers. The research done at UMaine- CCAR evaluates wild broodstock management, better practices for phytoplankton production, hatchery techniques including infrastructure, and best husbandry practices during early developmental larval stages, and settlement systems development.
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The UMaine-CCAR has been providing sea urchin juveniles to growers along the Gulf of Maine, and the farmers are developing systems combining their main crops (oysters, scallops, and seaweed) with sea urchins that will provide an extra income using the infrastructure already established and/or experimenting with the sea urchins as way to mitigate and control biofouling, especially for the oyster and scallops gear.
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The future direction for the UMaine-CCAR hatchery includes to be a reliable source of sea urchin juveniles for growers and scientists for the Northeastern region and beyond, workforce training for sea urchin hatcheries, support for existing and new growers that want to introduce the green sea urchin as a new species to their farms.