Featured on the front cover, May 2025

How one film is sparking urchin action nationwide

A new Australian documentary is bringing national attention to a silent crisis beneath our southern seas. White Rock explores the explosion of long-spined sea urchins (Centrostephanus rodgersii) that have stripped 2,000 kms of coastline of once-thriving kelp forests – from southern NSW to Tasmania – leaving behind barren seascapes.

Featuring environmental advocate Damon Gameau, the film follows scientists, divers, fishers and chefs as they confront the crisis and reveal a surprising solution: eat the problem. Globally prized as a delicacy, these urchins are largely untapped in Australia. Leading chefs are now showcasing them in everything from devilled eggs to urchin gelato.

‘Urchins are one of Australia’s most overlooked seafood treasures,’ says Athena Ko, CEO of The Roe Australia. But transforming this ecological threat into a sustainable industry needs more than appetite – it requires investment, infrastructure and political will.

Harvesting urchin for the table, around Actaeon Island, Tasmania.

The Centro Task Force, a coalition of experts and community groups, has proposed a $55 million national plan to restore kelp forests, expand commercial harvesting and embed First Nations-led marine management. A Federal Senate Inquiry in 2023 backed immediate action, but implementation has stalled.

‘If this were happening on land, we’d see urgent intervention,’ says Professor Maria Byrne. ‘We have the science and the solutions – we just need the government to act.’

Backed by the Great Southern Reef Foundation, White Rock is currently touring with a series of Q&A screenings and urchin tastings. Audiences are encouraged to sign a national petition calling for funding and reef restoration.

Urchin barrens like this are now common across the Great Southern Reef, caused by unchecked populations of Centrostephanus rodgersii.

The tour launches locally in Bendalong on 26 April, with further dates along the NSW South Coast to be announced.

There will be a White Rock film screening plus community panel on Saturday 3 May, 6.30 to 9.30 pm at the Narooma Surf Club (doors open from 6.00 pm) and in Merimbula, 5 May at 6.30 at 80 Main Street at The Picture
Show Man.

Saturday’s panel guests include: Uncle Wally Stewart, Yuin elder; Dr Cayne Layton, kelp ecologist; Dane Willmott, Nature Coast Marine Group; Ryan Morris, South Coast Sea Urchins; and Jane Elek, marine scientist.

Find more screenings on the Great Southern Reef website and scroll down to the White Rock tour.

Stefan Andrews