The decline in sea urchin fisheries production has seen increasing interest in the commercial culture of sea urchins, including the fast-growing tropical Tripneustes gratilla. However, the establishment of commercial sea urchin culture ventures is hampered by a lack of data on optimal culture conditions for sea urchins. The information presented in this report provides data to bridge this knowledge gap and represents an important step forward in the realisation of commercial sea urchin aquaculture.
This report is targeted at commercial entities interested in diversifying into sea urchin aquaculture. Information on optimal growth, survival and gonad production is required in order to model the economics of sea urchin aquaculture ventures in Australia. This report also contributes to the growing global literature on sea urchin aquaculture, and may therefore be of interest to aquaculture researchers.