Urchin Aquaculture Australia

Introducing Urchin Aquaculture Australia – a collaboration between The University of Melbourne, Deakin University, Southern Cross University and industry partner, AquaTrophic.

Sea urchin roe (‘uni’) is a prized delicacy in countries such as China and Japan. Uni is a particularly high value product, with a large export market in Japan worth around US $200 million annually. Increasing demand and reduced supply from collapsing wild fisheries are creating opportunities for commercial sea urchin culture in Australia to supply the Japanese market.

The aim of our AgriFutures Australia-funded research is to target major bottlenecks in sea urchin aquaculture industry development. Our current research focuses on two commercially-valuable sea urchin species: the collector urchin (Tripneustes gratilla) and the purple urchin (Heliocidaris erythrogramma).

To learn more, head to www.urchin.org.au.