Sustainable Seafood

What does it take to study the ocean? It’s a lot harder than you might think, considering most marine research happens in a lab instead of the ocean itself. Imagine you are starting a project at Bodega Marine Laboratory (BML) and given only two weeks with limited funding to set up your study and collect all of the data you need to answer your research question. Data collection is an enormous task, but have you ever thought about the time it takes to replicate ocean environments on land?

The UC Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory's Aquatic Resources Group offers a glimpse into the world of oyster aquaculture. See the hatchery, where tiny Olympia oysters (Ostrea lurida) - the only oyster species native to the west coast of the US - are prepared for outplanting into the ocean.

This video was filmed and produced by Sam Briggs and features Joe Newman. Want to see more of Sam's work? Check out his science-meets-art photography on Instagram.

Written by: Jessica Ramos

Considered a delicacy around the globe, sea urchins please the palates of the wealthy, showing up on sushi bars and swirled into pasta at fine restaurants. However, these spiny creatures in recent years have plowed through forests of bull kelp along coasts around the world.

Off the Northern California coast, there is a crisis beneath the waves. The kelp forest – seaweed that provided habitat and food for much of life in the ocean – is gone, wiped out by an exploding population of purple sea urchins.

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Urchinomics and its partner, the UC Davis' Bodega Marine Laboratory, are running a trial designed to develop methods for ranching purple sea urchins for profit, while at the same time addressing the consequences of a nasty ecological chain reaction.

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Wildlife conservation sometimes involves eating fewer animal products. But to save California’s kelp forest, a new dish is being added to the menu: purple sea urchin. 

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James N. Sanchirico is currently a Professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy. His main research interests include the economic analysis of policy design, implementation, and evaluation for marine and terrestrial species conservation, and the development of economic-ecological models for forecasting the effects of resource management policies.

“Ocean acidification has inspired people to start thinking about connections in ways I hadn’t seen with other ocean problems,” says Tessa Hill, of the Bodega Marine Lab. “People are tackling this to try and understand both the impact on what we eat, and the health of the environment.”

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