The Japanese Sea Urchin Market

"Sea urchins are harvested worldwide, the majority destined for the Japanese market. Japan is by far the world's largest importer and consumer of sea urchin roe. In 2002, Japan imported about 18,525 metric tons (mt) of live sea urchins and sea urchin roe valued at about 247 million dollars, an increase of more than ten-fold in volume and 12-fold in value from 1975. Much of this increase was due to good demand, decreased domestic harvest, and consequent rise in price for sea urchin roe. Fresh sea urchin roe was the dominant product imported into Japan, representing as much as 49 percent in value in 2002. The United States has become the largest supplier of fresh roe to Japan, providing over 45 percent in value and 39 percent in volume of the total. Differences in peak fishing seasons in Japan (spring through summer) and the United States (fall through spring) have benefitted U.S. exporters in marketing sea urchin roe to Japan. Japan was the world's largest harvester of sea urchins until 1984. Since 1987, Japanese harvests have declined steadily due mainly to declining stock abundance. The harvest in 2002 of 13,000 mt was less than half of the record high landings which occurred in 1969. From 1987 to 2001, landings in the United States have exceeded Japanese landings. In 2001, sea urchins were harvested in six states: Alaska (1,166 mt), Washington (344 mt), Oregon (571 mt), California (5,951 mt), Maine (4,491 mt), and Rhode Island (0.1 mt). Most fresh sea urchin roe are sold through auction at the Tokyo Central Wholesale Market. Although quality of roe is the most important factor in determining prices, total supply (domestic and imported roe) is also significant. In 2002, the highest price for imported roe occurred in January. High prices for Japanese roe occurred in January and September, reflecting the low availability of roe during these months. Japan regulates imports of sea urchin products with import tariffs. As the United States and Japan are signatories to the World Trade Organization (WTO), WTO tariffs apply to U.S. exports of sea urchin products: 7 percent for fresh, frozen, or salted sea urchin roe, and 10 percent for prepared or preserved products, including those in airtight containers. There is no tariff for live sea urchins. Tariff rates are calculated as a percentage of total cost, including insurance and freight. Sea urchin roe shipped from Los Angeles is considered to be the best in Japan's import market. The future market for sales of U.S. sea urchins to Japan depends to a large extent on Japanese sea urchin harvest. Because domestic harvest is not likely to increase in the short term, increased export of U.S. sea urchins and sea urchin roe has significant potential."--Executive summary.

This volume deals with various aspects of the biology and aquaculture of the sea urchin.

Sea urchins and sea cucumbers are highly sought after delicacies growing in popularity globally. The demand for these species is rapidly outpacing natural stocks, and researchers and seafood industry personnel are now looking towards aquaculture as a means of providing a sustainable supply of these organism. Echinoderm Aquaculture is a practical reference on the basic biology and current culture practices for a wide range of geographically diverse echinoderm species. Echinoderm Aquaculture begins by examining the basic ecology and biology of sea urchins and sea cucumbers as well as the breadth of uses of these organisms as a source of food and bioactive compound. Subsequent chapters delineate the specific species of interest invarious geographic regions from around the world. Together, chapters provide a comprehensive coverage of culture practices. Echinoderm Aquaculture is a practical reference for researchers and industry personnel, and will serve as an invaluable resource to this rapidly growing segment of the aquaculture industry.

Shellfish is a broad term that covers various aquatic mollusks, crustaceans and echinoderms that are used as food. They have economic and ecological importance and have been consumed as food for centuries. Shellfish provide high quality protein with all the dietary amino acids essential for maintenance and growth of the human body. Shellfish are a major component of global seafood production, with shellfish aquaculture rapidly growing in recent years. There are many different processing methods used across the world. Shellfish are very perishable foods and must be preserved just after catching or harvesting. This makes the preservation of seafood a critical issue in terms of quality and human health. To date there have been a number of books on seafood processing and preservation, but all of them have been mostly focused on fish. Shellfish Processing and Preservation is the first reference work to focus specifically on shellfish, providing comprehensive coverage of the production methods, biological makeups and preservation methods of all major shellfish species. Individual sections focus on crustaceans such as shrimps and prawns, crabs and lobsters plus molluscans including mussels, scallops and oysters. Cephalopods such as squid and octopus are also covered in depth. For each species processing and preservation methods such as chilling, freezing, canning and curing are examined, plus the important safety aspects specific to each shellfish type. Shellfish Processing and Preservation is an essential publication for any researchers or industry professionals in search of a singular and up-to-date source for the processing and preservation of shellfish.