SEA URCHIN Obliterate Entire Tide Pool! This is NOT GOOD

Back in the mid '70's urchins absolutely devastated the Cali coast from Laguna Beach to Oxnard. Along came PURP (Palos Verdes Underwater Restoration Program) who set up air stations at many local access points to diving area every weekend. Free air to anyone with a hammer to smash the urchins. We smashed urchins every week at Whites Point in San Pedro and other spots along the Palos Verde coast. When it was determined that the area had been cleared of enough urchins kelp was harvested from the Point Loma kelp bed in San Diego and transplanted along the SoCal coast line. The program was a rousing success and within a year and a half kelp forests were thriving, with a healthy kelp forest came the return of the other sea life, what was a barren waste land of urchins and star fish became again a thriving fishery.

for the fall you should host a event with the community to harvest the uni together take a chunk of the purple urchin population, make a dish for the community, and a vid

Never ask Taku to clean the uni. He eats half the yieild while he's cleaning them.

Bring back the sea otters. They control urchin populations naturally and prevent the urchins from decemating the kelp off the coast. Love the content, especially on the pacific coast of the US.

They’ve destroyed the kelp beds off our surf spots. The kelp beds groom the wind from the surface of the water and created good surf. Now everything is choppy. Amazing how a starfish disease can have such far reaching effects.

Bro, I loved you and Jocelyn's international journey but it's fantastic to see you going back to your roots with a tide pool visit!

It was difficult for me to see the urchin monoculture tide pools. Seventy-ish years ago my Dad and I fished the San Mateo County coast for blenny eels, (monkeyface etc.) and enjoyed the mussels and cabazone and all the rich, rich life in this wonderful intertidal zone. In places we could harvest abalone without a pry bar! (The abalone divers h wiped out the commercial fishery and there was some population recovery. The sea otter population had not yet recovered so we hit the sweet spot in personal abalone fishing. You are right, THIS IS NOT GOOD!! and I fear it is not going to revert to anything other than a marine desert. The loss of 95% of the kelp is the loss of the basic food and habitat of the entire ecosystem. Basically the kelp forests have been clear cut by the urchin population and no organism benefits.

Japanese scientists figured out an easy way to fatten up uni. Put them in a tank with cabbage. The cabbage floats so you have to use a circulator to get it so that the uni can grab on to them.

Yes! Back to the good ol days. Hope to see you on the kayak soon.

Yes!! I’ve been waiting for you to go out foraging again!!

The thing with over fishing and trawling is the fish that kept the reefs in check can no longer keep up not enough which is why sea urchin dominate coast lines these days

@19:04 barehand on the cast iron pan straight from the coals is crazy lol. chefs are built different

This was the kind of video that first made me fall in love with you're channel! So happy to see some beach foraging and poke pole fishing!

your videos genuinely make me happy bro. Every time I catch myself out of touch with reality I revisit you channel and it feels so wholesome.

Welcome back Taku! Love seeing you back on the CA coast. Keep up the great videos.

Just found your station last week. I’m loving your content!

Omg I thought I heard that wrong and had to go back … congrats on the pregnancy! My husband and I love your channel. we’ve been watching you since 2020

Such throwback, been watching you since the first few videos you made foraging.

Thank you for educating us. Great video

Love all your videos but I definitely missed these kinds of videos! Back to the basics