Current Classification on the List of Fisheries
Category
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III
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Estimated Number of Participants
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Unknown
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Target Species
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Green sea urchin
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Applicable Take Reduction Plans
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N/A
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Observer Coverage
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N/A
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Marine Mammal Species/Stocks Killed or Injured
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None documented
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^ Number of participants estimates are based on state and federal fisheries permit data. The estimated number of participants is expressed in terms of the number of active participants in the fishery, when possible. If this information is not available, the estimated number of vessels or persons licensed for a particular fishery is provided. If no recent information is available on the number of participants, then the number from the most recent LOF is used. NOAA Fisheries acknowledges that, in some cases, these estimations may be inflating actual effort.
*Observer coverage levels include the latest information reported in the most current final Stock Assessment Report (SAR).
1 Indicates the stock or species is driving the classification of the fishery.
Basis for Current Classification
There are no documented cases of marine mammal interactions.
Distribution
This fishery is in Gulf of Maine coastal areas and operates from fall to winter.
Gear Description
This fishery collects urchins by either free diving or using SCUBA in shallow water. Most often a support vessel transports the diver(s) to the fishing site and carries the landings to port. In deeper waters, helmet diving systems are used and the diver is tethered to the vessel with air pumped from the surface. Divers normally use small rakes or hoes to scrape creatures off rocks or dig them out of the seabed. Generally, the catch is placed in bags that are either towed to the surface by the boat or floated to the surface using an air source and a lift bag. Divers rarely work deeper than about 20 meters (66 feet).
Management
Minimum size, closed areas and closed seasons exist in the state of Massachusetts. Sea urchin management zones exist in Maine.
Historical Information
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Original Category (Year added to the LOF)
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III (1989)
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Original Number of Participants
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>50
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Basis for Original Classification
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There are no documented cases of marine mammal interactions.
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Past Names
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N/A
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Species/stocks historically documented as killed or injured (but not currently on the list)
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N/A
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Timeline of Changes
The Fishadelphia team. Credit: Dr. Talia Young.
North Atlantic right whale Catalog #3560 ‘Snow Cone’ sighted December 2, 2021 entangled and with a new calf. Photo credit: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission taken under NOAA permit 20556.
Four North Atllantic right whales.
A Northeast Fisheries Science Center biologist collecting data during buoyless lobster trap tests.