In summer, fishing for sea urchins is prohibited everywhere

It can happen: you go to a restaurant and the menu includes spaghetti with fresh sea urchins. A friend invites you on a boat and offers you fresh sea urchins with lemon, to eat with a spoon. Well, be aware that this is a huge waste, as sea urchin fishing is prohibited throughout Italy during the summer.

The reasons are known, and concern the protection of the species, whose survival has been at risk for some time.

In summer (in many areas of the Mediterranean, including Italy) sea urchins:

• si reproduce
• they release eggs and sperm into the water
• they need to remain undisturbed to ensure the renewal of the population

If they are caught during this period, the species' ability to regenerate is drastically reduced.

And since sea urchins also eat algae and help maintain the balance of coastal habitats, if their numbers decrease too much, the algae will grow excessively and the ocean floor ecosystem will be altered.

In some Italian regions, sea urchin fishing is prohibited even for long periods or for entire seasons (not only in summer) , and in some cases it has even been suspended for several years or indefinitely for reasons of protection of the species. The best known cases are Sardinia, Puglia, Campania, Calabria and Sicily.

To understand the specific situations, simply start from the specific decrees on sea urchin fishing published each year by each region.

Just search on the Internet:

• "sea urchin"
• “Paracentrotus lividus”
• “sea urchin fishing calendar”
• “fishing department decree”.

You can also find all the information on individual bans, region by region, on the Port Authorities' websites.

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• Too warm water is causing sea urchins to disappear
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