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Article: ZOOLOGY SEA URCHINS CAUSE TROUBLE FOR LOBSTERMEN TEAM'S PROPOSED SOLUTION WOULD BRING PROFITS AND RESTORE NATURAL ORDER
- Article from:
- The Boston Globe (Boston, MA)
- Article date:
- May 3, 1987
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1987 The Boston Globe. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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NEWCASTLE - University of New Hampshire zoology professor Larry
Harris and his students are hoping to turn a pest into a profit for
New England lobstermen.
The object of their research, the sea urchin, resembles a
4-inch green porcupine, without conventional feet or face.
But unfortunately for lobstermen in the Gulf of Maine, it's
the sea urchin's mouth that's causing the problem. The spiney
little urchins like to eat their way through shallow water kelp
beds, which shelter the young of many species, including young
lobsters.
'They're really omnivorous, they eat everything from seaweed
to mussels," said Harris, "but when they destroy kelp beds, they
leave what we call urchin barrens ...