ECOLOGICAL DATA
Distribution: rocky areas throughout exposed and
protected coastal waters.
Habitat: rocky substrates, especially ledges and crevices; locate near or in
giant or bull kelp beds and other brown algae in areas of moderate to swift currents;
larvae drift and feed in plankton; juveniles settle near kelp beds, often associate with
aggregations of adults, remain under adult spines until mature.
Tidal elevation: extreme low tide to over 100 m subtidal depth; most
concentrated abundance just below the upper limit of range.
Food: herbivore; grazes on attached marine plants and drifting kelp fragments;
primary food is kelp and may limit kelp distribution;
Predators: sea stars, sea otter, octopus, crabs, wolf eels; numerous predators
on larvae.
GROWTH RATE
Slow; average size is 50-60 mm, but may reach a maximum size of
about 85 mm.
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FISHERY No commercial fishery exists
at present due to small size though potential exists.
REFERENCES
Jamieson, G.S., and K. Francis. 1986. Sea urchins, pp. 8-12. In.
G.S. Jamieson and K. Francis [ed.] Invertebrate and marine plant fishery resources of
British Columbia. Can. Spec. Publ. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 91.
Kramer, D.E., and D.M.A. Nordin. 1978. Physical data from a study of size, weight and
gonad quality for the green sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) over a
one-year period. Fish. Mar. Serv. MS Rep. 1476: 68 p.
Mottet, M.G. 1976. The fishery biology of sea urchins in the Family
Strongylocentrotidae. Wash. Dep. Fish. Tech. Rep. 20: 66 p.
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