Sea urchin fisheries, management and policy review (Activity A4.2.1 of the URCHIN project)

Summary

This report gives a brief introduction to the URCHIN project, funded by the Northern Peripheries and Arctic Programme (NPA). The scope of the report is also outlined. This is followed by a summary of the sea urchin fishery management techniques that are used in sea urchin fisheries around the world. These are listed in order of size of the fisheries and include a brief description of the history of the fishery and what management practices have led to the current state of the fishery. There are three more detailed case studies of Fisheries Management from Chile, the world’s largest fishery, New Zealand, a small but sustainably managed fishery and Canada, a fishery that has substantial management in place and a sustainable fishery that experiences similar environmental conditions to countries in the NPA. The report then summarises the management practices, or lack of, that have been in place in the participating NPA countries (Ireland, Iceland, Greenland and Norway). Finally, conclusions are made on the history of sea urchin fisheries management in the NPA countries and the impacts that a lack of fisheries management and regulation has had in these countries.