Fight Purple Urchin Overgrowth with Foraging

0:00It's April 20th, from your city to your ears. This is California News Today, powered by AI. Purple sea urchins are taking over tide pools at Fort Ross State Historic Park on the Sonoma Coast, blanketing rocks like spiky purple balls and throwing the marine ecosystem way out of whack. This boom comes from the loss of kelp forests, wiped out by a warming event called the Blob from 2013 to 2016, plus fewer predators. Urchin numbers shot up 10,000 percent since 2014, creating barren zones where kelp used to thrive, especially in Sonoma, Mendocino, and Humboldt counties, with 98% kelp cover gone between Sonoma and Southern Oregon. Local folks are stepping up through foraging classes, led by experts from fork in the path, teaching how to safely harvest these invaders during low. Tides, like negative 0.5 feet, with a California fishing license, you can snag up to 30 five urchins a day, helping restore balance while scoring fresh seafood.

1:03They demo cleaning by cracking open the shells with spoons, rinsing out guts, and scooping the tasty orange unigone ads which taste briney and sweet. Raw on rice or in dishes, uni sells for around $40 per 100 grams, and divers can haul up to 40 gallons in deeper spots. Jump in with groups like the Purple Urchin Removal Project and Mendocino for bigger cleanups or host your own beach-forward party, feeding yourself, while boosting ocean health and bowed diversity along the coast.