The Kotsubo Fisheries Cooperative in Zushi on Monday shipped the first "cabbage urchins" that had been fed cabbage. Sea urchins grown on cabbage will have smaller amount of a type of amino acid that causes bitterness, and more glutamic acid, which increases their umami and sweetness, according to the Kanagawa Prefectural Fisheries Technology Center, in Miura City.
On the coast of the Miura Peninsula, sea urchins have been treated as a nuisance because they eat seaweed, which causes the environment for fish and shellfish to deteriorate. The Kotsubo Fisheries Cooperative aims to improve the sea ecosystem by cultivating and commercializing cabbage urchins.
Around April, the cooperative caught about 1,500 sea urchins. In cooperation with the center, they put the sea urchins in five water tanks and fed them outer leaves of cabbage from a local supermarket.
In recent years, there has been lesss seaweed, such as Akamoku and Arame, on the Zushi coast due to rising sea temperatures and typhoons. Sea urchins have also been eating the seaweed, which has additional negative impact on fisheries. The cooperative has been capturing sea urchins to help preserve the fishing environment. However, they had no choice but to throw away uncultured sea urchins because they had only a small portion to eat.
The sale of cabbage urchins was limited to two days. On Tuesday, the supermarket "Suzukiya Zushi Ekimaeten" sold 100 units, with 300, yen before tax, a piece.
"We hope consumers will enjoy these carefully raised sea urchins," said head of the cooperative. "We hope to double shipping and provide urchins to restaurants in the city."
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