Tackling invasive sea urchins could be a boon for jobs, the environment, and the Australian palate, with a Senate inquiry calling for immediate action on the spiky species.
Although long-spined sea urchins are native to NSW, warming oceans and shifting currents caused by climate change have caused echinoderm populations to explode, threatening marine habitats, biodiversity and fisheries.
As the Pac-Man and Space Invaders of the ocean, urchins outcompete and out-graze other species, leaving once-flourishing ecosystems barren.
With billions blanketing the Australian ocean floor, they have created "underwater moonscapes" along 8000km of coast from the top of NSW, around Victoria, SA, all of Tasmania, and snaking halfway up WA.
Luckily, this vicious, invasive species is also an extremely delicious and highly prized ingredient.
As such, a Senate committee report has recommended the federal government work with state counterparts to support and develop fisheries that could harvest and process long-spined sea urchins.
The move would present a "rare simultaneous win-win for our environment and our economy".
Sea urchin roe can sell for between $200 and $400 per kilogram, with the global market worth almost $500 million a year.
The ingredient is not very well recognised in Australia, which means it has high potential to develop in the domestic market, the report says.
Used in cuisines around the world, the best-known serving suggestion for sea urchins is also the most challenging to many Western palates.
At high-end Japanese sushi bars, bright orange uni - harvested from the centre of the urchin - is served raw on a bed of rice.
Some claim the flavour is creamy, buttery and unctuously savoury.
Others compare eating it to devouring a briny, human tongue.
But roe only makes up about 10 per cent of an urchin's mass, which has led researchers to canvass other uses.
The waste products could also be used as fertilisers and soil conditioners or in the cosmetic, pharmaceutical and aquaculture feed sectors.
Governments should co-ordinate research and policy to encourage an economically and ecologically sustainable urchin fishery while fostering programs to protect and restore kelp and reef environments and encourage overseas and domestic markets for urchin projects.
Existing fisheries for rock lobster and abalone should also receive support, the report states.
Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson called on governments to act now.
“The spread of marine invasive pests is arguably one of the most significant environmental challenges we face in our oceans, but is rarely talked about or acted upon," he said in a statement on Friday.
"(Long-spined sea urchins) have decimated precious marine ecosystems and fisheries in their wake.
"It’s been obvious very little has been done by any level of government to co-ordinate or manage a response to this worsening menace."
