Until now, diving has been the normal method of fishing for sea urchins, but in the future, divers could be replaced by ROVs. Trials of the mini-ROV "Seabed Harvester", which has been developed by Sperre AS in collaboration with the Norwegian company 7S-Technology, have shown that this could be a new method of sea urchin fishing.
Seabed Harvester is a prototype that has been built to harvest sea urchins and shellfish such as scallops and
cockles. Sea urchin roe is very popular, and is among the best-paid
seafood products in the world. Today, divers harvest wild sea
urchins directly from the sea, and these are then fed until they are
ready for the market. In collaboration with a sea urchin producer,
the Nofima research group has carried out full-scale trials of the
mini-ROV in an area where sea urchins are already being commercially
harvested. Two divers also took part in the test, in order to
evaluate the relative efficiency of the ROV.
“Comparison of the results showed
that the ROV has a lot of potential, and it can certainly be operated
more efficiently as operators acquire more experience. But we still
need to test the ROV under a wider range of conditions,” says
senior scientist Sten Siikiavuopio of Nofima to forskning.no.
Experienced divers can harvest significant quantities of sea urchins in
the course of a day, and several previous tests have shown that this
method is more efficient than other types of fishing gear. But diving
does have its limitations. It requires a great deal of resources,
and it can be risky.
“A mini-ROV will be less dependent on
the season of the year, current conditions, depths and other factors
that limit diving. We also avoid the need to have people in the
water, which reduces the risks involved. All the same, this
method does require a high level of operational and maintenance expertise, not to mention faulty searches.“ says Siikavuopio.