WWW.WAS.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • SEPTEMBER 2023 17 there is also a potential for recovering areas where urchins are a nuisance (barren reefs) to increase biodiversity and ecosystem restoration. This type of co-culture is inclusive, as it seems feasible for even small-scale farmers as a means of producing a secondary product. Importantly, if proven feasible and efficient, the co-culture design can be easily replicated and adopted. It should be noted that the studied urchin species is not of commercial value at the moment because it does not often develop the large, dark yellow roe (uni) that is traditionally used in sushi. That does not mean the roe cannot be used in an innovative way such as a sauce, or a seasoning product, as a lower priced alternative. Acceptance will ultimately depend on customer interest; at this stage the focus is on scientifically assessing the ecological and farming aspects of urchin species. Periwinkles are already commonly consumed as a snack in many countries such as England and Spain, which could be used as a model for markets in the US. In the US, only the state of Maine seems to regulate the harvest and have a history of commercial sales of this species. Notes Dr. Darien D. Mizuta*, Dr. William Walton and Ricardo L. Cruz, Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences (VIMS) 1370 Greate Rd, Gloucester Point, VA, USA, 23062. * Corresponding Author; ddmizuta@vims.edu References Gianguzza, P. and C. Bonaviri. 2013. Arbacia. Pages: 275- 283 In: J.M. Lawrence, editor. Sea Urchins: Biology and Ecology. Elsevier. Academic Press, New York, USA. Hill, S.K. and J.M. Lawrence. 2003. Habitats and characteristics of the Sea Urchins Lytechinus variegatus and Arbacia punctulata (Echinodermata) on the Florida Gulf-Coast Shelf. Marine Ecology 24:15-30. IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). 2020. IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions. A userfriendly framework for the verification, design and scaling up of NbS. First edition. Gland, Switzerland. TABLE 1. Condition indices of urchin gonads from various treatments. SUMMER TRIAL WINTER TRIAL Treatments Urchin Gonad CI Oyster CI Urchin Gonad CI Oyster CI Start 0.64 ± 0.79 7.23 ± 1.93 3.98 ± 2.69 12.15 ± 2.10 End Control — 7.66 ± 4.02 — 9.53 ± 1.72 Juvenile Low 0.39 ± 0.25 6.95 ± 1.74 0.35 ± n/a 9.31 ± 1.99 Juvenile High 0.79 ± 0.67 6.81 ± 1.28 1.36 ± 0.40 9.07 ± 1.99 Adult Low 0.99 ± 1.06 7.12 ± 1.29 — 8.59 ± 1.75 Adult High 1.01 ± 0.97 7.67 ± 1.00 — 9.59 ± 0.77 FIGURE 6. Common periwinkles: another species for co-culture and of potential commercial interest; a) periwinkle close-up b) habitat in the seagrass, c) combing harvest with an adapted picker, and d) trial with rack and bag style intertidal culture experiment at VIMS (Photo credits: Darien Mizuta). Periwinkles are already a seafood commonly consumed as a snack in many countries such as England and Spain, which could be used as a model for markets in the US. In the US, only the state of Maine seems to regulate the harvest and have a history of commercial sales of this species. a b c d
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