Collaborative sea urchin project featured on WABI
WABI (Channel 5) reported on a sea urchin restoration project being conducted at the University of Maine’s Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research (CCAR) in collaboration with the Department of Marine Resources and local fishermen. The project aims to restore the sea urchin population in Cat Ledges, which is located in the Boothbay Harbor area. “I have high hopes for this because it’s really the first time that the fishery has ever tried restocking,” said Steve Eddy, director of CCAR in Franklin. “They’ve talked about it for years, but it’s never been done on any significant scale.” The Department of Marine Resources is proposing to close the sea urchin harvest in Cat Ledges for three years as the restoration project is underway, according to the report. “We got a really dedicated and experienced crew of fishermen working on this project. and I think they’ll make it happen,” Eddy said.