|
|
Article: State eyes marketing commission for urchins: sea creature is popular niche market. (Government).(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- San Diego Business Journal
- Article date:
- July 22, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 CBJ, L.P. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
They may be small, but sea urchins are big business in San Diego. And now they're going to get a little bigger.
SB 1540, proposed by state Sen. Dede Alpert, D-Coronado, would establish a statewide marketing commission for sea urchins, a popular delicacy in Japanese restaurants. The bill is now winding through the state Legislature.
Sea urchins are a popular niche market in California. Statewide, there are 450 professional sea urchin divers and 17 processing units -- including one in San Diego -- processing 10 million to 15 million pounds of sea urchins a year.
About 50 to 70 percent of all sea urchins harvested in California are exported to ...