Joonga Land and Water Aboriginal Corporation has secured a $1.48 million NSW Government grant to develop sustainable sea urchin fisheries along the South Coast.

Traditional Owner, Wally Stewart, is co-founder and director of Joonga. For years he has watched the proliferation of long-spined sea urchins devour the kelp forests that are vital to healthy marine ecosystems. Climate change-induced warming oceans have seen the sea urchins move south leaving so-called urchin barrens behind them.

For the last four years, Joonga has been working with University of Wollongong Associate Professor Tillmann Boehme on a business and restoration plan to address the sea urchin problem, to create jobs and economic opportunities for Aboriginal people and put them back in the lead of restoring the health of Sea Country.

Denzel Carriage, Jamie Newman of Sydney Urchins and John Carriage Junior

Tillmann led the successful grant application.

About a year ago, Jamie Newman of Sydney Urchins joined them. He has been working with leading experts from Chile to design a processing machine that will remove some of the early high labour costs associated with extracting the valuable roe from the urchins. They have more research to do to design the processing machine, better understand the urchin barrens and how to fatten up under-nourished urchins.

The roe will be sold domestically and exported, while waste from urchin processing will be pelletised into soil enhancers. They are working with a vineyard on that aspect of the project.

If the kelp forests don’t come back naturally, Wally will turn to Jo Lane of Sea Health Products. The marine conservationist has developed a kelp seed bank at her laboratory in Tilba Tilba.

It is one of four aquaculture grants announced by Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty on 30 April. Wally said the clean-up project will create a permanent industry that can fund itself without needing any subsidies.

Marion Williams

Photo above right: Long spined sea urchins