World Economic Forum: These tiny creatures are destroying the ocean - the solution? Eat them
Spiky, voracious and multiplying at an alarming rate, sea urchins are destroying marine ecosystems around the world. The solution? Eat them, according to one company.
Populations of purple sea urchins in particular – a hardy kelp-eating species – have exploded in recent years as an out-of-sync marine ecosystem has failed to keep them in check.
Munching their way through kelp forests from California to Norway, urchins leave vast expanses of desolate ocean floor – known as urchin barrens – in their wake. Not only are these kelp forests an important home for marine life, they are also crucial in our battle against climate change, capturing and storing carbon dioxide.