Recent explosions in purple urchin (<i>Strongylocentrotus purpuratus</i>) in northern California have decimated kelp in the region, transforming kelp forests into urchin barrens. One tool to facilitate kelp forest conservation is the advancement of urchin gonad enhancement aquaculture. Barren habitats lack adequate nutrition in the wild for urchin to produce market-quality gonad, or ‘uni’, disincentivizing urchin commercial harvest. A potential solution to overcome this issue combines fisheries with aquaculture such that emaciated wild urchin can be collected and fed in captivity to produce high quality uni. While potential exists for urchin aquaculture to promote kelp forest health, there is a gap in knowledge in optimal environments to maximize uni production in a cultured setting. We conducted experiments to test which temperature (12, 14, 18, 20ºC) and light (24 hr, 16 hr, 8 hr, 0 hr) regimes produced was optimal uni. At high temperatures, individuals exposed to ‘winter’ light regimes (8 hours) produced larger gonads compared to those in darkness, whereas individuals in cool temperatures showed no differences in gonad size across light treatments. When assessing gametogenesis in cool temperatures, egg production was significantly lower in 24 hour light compared to 16, 8, and 0 hour light treatments. However, egg production was similarly low across all light treatments in high temperatures. Our experiments demonstrate gonad production and gametogenesis are under photoperiod control in warmer temperatures, potentially explained by seasonal cues controlling gametogenesis.