What's Being Done

Eating the Problem into Decline

Centro may be problematic for Great Southern Reef ecosystems, however they do have a saving grace - a luxurious roe that is creamy, sweet and briny. Known as 'uni', it's highly prized for eating around the world, and the raw product can fetch over $500 a kg!

Commercial abalone divers first raised the alarm about centro wiping out prime abalone habitat in Tasmania. In 2016, the abalone industry provided a cash incentive to commercial divers to harvest the urchin for their delicate roe. ​

In 2018, the Abalone Industry Reinvestment​ Fund (AIRF)​ was created by​ the Tasmanian Government in partnership with the Tasmanian Abalone Council Ltd (TACL), and has since invested over $8M for Centro management, research and harvest incentives. Read the full strategy below.

 Longspined Sea Urchin strategy 2022 (PDF 5Mb)​

​Incentivising Harvest

With help of a cash per kilo incentive, targeting key regions on Tasmania's east coast, Centro has now grown into the third largest Tasmanian fishery by weight. The goal is to "sustainably overfish" and remove 500 tonnes (a million urchins) a year to reduce the breeding population of Centro.

Excitingly, Centro are now declining in three of the nine key Tasmanian regions, where harvest levels are up to 10% of the population. Kelp has started to regrow in these areas.

Centro are here to stay. The fishery is a critical management solution, as long as it remains economically viable. Careful management is required to prevent barrens forming and expanding, while ensuring there is enough Centro to keep the harvesting industry viable. If this is done, it's a win-win for the environment, the market, and our people.​​

​​How are they Harvested?

Centro is harvested by licensed commercial divers.

Researchers  identify 'priority areas' for Centro control. Higher incentives are applied in these areas to encourage harvesting.

Commercial divers use long-pronged tools to pry Centro from rocks. They place them into large woven bags, which are pulled to the surface and loaded onto licensed boats. Centro are transported to Tasmanian seafood processing facilities while they are live and fresh.

​How are they Processed?

Tasmania boasts several seafood processing businesses with specialist knowledge to process Centro. Centro arrives at processors on the day it is harvested, where the golden roe known as 'uni' is extracted. Highly skilled teams work quickly to sort, wash, and package the uni. It is then distributed fresh to shops and restaurants around the world.

View a centro processing operation

Researchers are seeking profitable uses for Centro waste products, like the hard shell and spikes. There are promising findings for its use in soil conditioners and fertilizers. Value adding the harvesting of Centro for other uses will help the fishery grow. Smaller urchins that don't produce roe could then also be harvested, and the fishery could operate year-round.  ​

Habitat Restoration

IMAS researchers are leading a project to protect and restore Tasmanian reefs. It's a major, transformative and collaborative effort.

With help from commercial seaweed growers, the Tasmanian Giant Kelp Restoration Project has found new ways to grow and plant Giant Kelp across Tasmania. With a 'whole-of-reef ecosystem' approach, the project includes:

• Growing, planting and monitoring Giant Kelp in the wild
• Harvesting Centro from restoration areas
• Rebuilding local populations of rock lobsters to prey on Centro
• Underwater gardening to weed out competing species
  

This is an exciting collaboration between scientists, commercial industries, government, Aboriginal communities, divers and coastal community groups. Read more about Giant Kelp Restoration.

​Rebuilding Rock Lobster Stocks

Large rock lobsters are one of the few predators of Centro in Tasmania. Although unable to restore extensive barrens, the presence of large rock lobsters may reduce the likelihood of new barrens forming on healthier parts of reef. Read More.​

Rock lobster are a highly sought-after commercial, recreational and cultural species in Tasmania, that have been heavily fished in areas where barrens have formed on the East Coast.

To boost rock lobster stocks on the East Coast, the Tasmanian Government has reduced and capped the rock lobster catch in these areas. This is further boosted by  Rock Lobster translocation by taking rock lobsters from deeper waters in South West Tasmania, where they are plentiful and slow-growing, and moving them to shallower and warmer inshore waters where they grow faster. Learn More.

Increase of large rock lobsters on the East Coast may assist in suppressing new Centro barrens from forming.