Happy flashback Friday to a day of harvesting uni at Half Moon Bay. Purple sea urchin are a majorly invasive species destroying California’s ecosystem, so we went to do our part by foraging a few while getting some sun!
Before our little day trip, we looked at the weather and it looked like it was going to be a lovely day to get out to the beach. We went during low tide so we would be able to see more sea life as well as find the urchins and mussels. It's actually really easy to harvest your own sea urchin and you just need a spoon or a simple tool of sorts to pick them up.
Try this fun date idea if you're looking for a reason to enjoy some sea breezes. With a CA fishing permit, you can take up to 35 home a day, but I think it’s most fun to enjoy them on the spot. They taste a lot better too fresh from the ocean. As most of you know, fresh uni is quite expensive to eat at restaurants because it can go bad easily. Uni is the Japanese name for the edible part of the Sea Urchin. It has a light, sweet, tender, and buttery taste to it and often eaten as nigiri sushi (placed on top of rice) or sashimi (by itself).
Here's more information from the California governmental website about fishing: https://wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Ocean/Regulations/Sport-Fishing/Invertebrate-Fishing-Regs
(a) Except as provided in this section, the daily bag limit for purple sea urchin is 35 individuals.
(b) The daily bag limit for purple sea urchin is forty (40) gallons when taken while skin or SCUBA diving in ocean waters of the following counties: Humboldt, Mendocino, and Sonoma.
(c) There is no possession limit for purple sea urchin.
(d) Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this Section, in ocean waters seaward of Caspar Headlands State Beach commonly referred to as Caspar Cove, in Mendocino County, in the area eastward of a straight line connecting points between 39o 22.045' N. lat. 123o 49.462' W. long. and 39o 21.695' N. lat. 123o 49.423' W. long., purple sea urchins may be taken in any number for the purpose of restoring the kelp ecosystem. Purple sea urchins may only be taken by hand or with manually operated hand-held tools.
Posting this little throwback that I made during COVID as I was really missing getting out to the ocean. Hope you're all staying safe!