Regenerative Solutions completes the 1st stage of Urchinomics ranching trials in Hong Kong
Mar 27, 2023
News
Regenerative Solutions
Regenerative Solutions, an affiliate of Audacy Ventures, is pleased to announce the successful completion of the first stage of sea urchin ranching trials in Hong Kong. The trials are conducted in partnership with Urchinomics, an endorsed project of the United Nations Ocean Decade.
Worldwide, sea urchin populations have exploded as a result of climate change and overfishing of natural predators. Sea urchins are now grazing on and destroying marine ecosystems globally, including Hong Kong’s coral habitats. Regenerative Solutions and Urchinomics aim to rehabilitate marine environments by relocating excess sea urchins to onshore aquaculture facilities. These sea urchins are subsequently made available to consumption markets as seafood.
In November 2022, Regenerative Solutions commissioned a team of 6 professional marine biologists and divers to collect 100 wild samples of Diadema Setosum, Salmacis Sphaeroides and Heliocidaris Crassispina. These samples are transferred to the Swire Institute of Marine Sciences of the University of Hong Kong. The sea urchins are provided with Urchinomics’s proprietary aquaculture feed and subjected to specific ranching protocols over 12 weeks.
Hong Kong’s local sea urchins proved to be highly responsive to Urchinomics’s specially designed food pellets. Individual urchin samples saw gonads/uni grow to close to 20% of body weigh, compared to low single digits at the start of the experiment.
This initial trial suggests Hong Kong’s domestic urchin species are suited for at scale ranching in aquaculture facilities. Regenerative Solutions and Urchinomics are now equipped with a solid scientific foundation for further research programs, including urchin ranching protocol optimization, ecological impact measurement of urchin removal projects, among others.
The Regenerative Solutions research team is led by Dr. Jay Joan Minuti of the State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution of the City University of Hong Kong, who worked closely with Dr. David Michael Baker of the University of Hong Kong and biologist Dr. Luk Chung Lim. Intern Nidhi Menon offered her valuable input in urchin specimen handling and observation.
Learn more about Regenerative Solutions at https://lnkd.in/gaawVpQu and Urchinomics at www.urchinomics.com
For additional information please contact Philip Chow at philip.chow@regenerativesolutions.co
Worldwide, sea urchin populations have exploded as a result of climate change and overfishing of natural predators. Sea urchins are now grazing on and destroying marine ecosystems globally, including Hong Kong’s coral habitats. Regenerative Solutions and Urchinomics aim to rehabilitate marine environments by relocating excess sea urchins to onshore aquaculture facilities. These sea urchins are subsequently made available to consumption markets as seafood.
In November 2022, Regenerative Solutions commissioned a team of 6 professional marine biologists and divers to collect 100 wild samples of Diadema Setosum, Salmacis Sphaeroides and Heliocidaris Crassispina. These samples are transferred to the Swire Institute of Marine Sciences of the University of Hong Kong. The sea urchins are provided with Urchinomics’s proprietary aquaculture feed and subjected to specific ranching protocols over 12 weeks.
Hong Kong’s local sea urchins proved to be highly responsive to Urchinomics’s specially designed food pellets. Individual urchin samples saw gonads/uni grow to close to 20% of body weigh, compared to low single digits at the start of the experiment.
This initial trial suggests Hong Kong’s domestic urchin species are suited for at scale ranching in aquaculture facilities. Regenerative Solutions and Urchinomics are now equipped with a solid scientific foundation for further research programs, including urchin ranching protocol optimization, ecological impact measurement of urchin removal projects, among others.
The Regenerative Solutions research team is led by Dr. Jay Joan Minuti of the State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution of the City University of Hong Kong, who worked closely with Dr. David Michael Baker of the University of Hong Kong and biologist Dr. Luk Chung Lim. Intern Nidhi Menon offered her valuable input in urchin specimen handling and observation.
Learn more about Regenerative Solutions at https://lnkd.in/gaawVpQu and Urchinomics at www.urchinomics.com
For additional information please contact Philip Chow at philip.chow@regenerativesolutions.co