Sea urchin In Greece

Sea urchin and fishing

Sea urchin throughout Greece is considered to be an endangered species and the competent authorities appear to be able to impose fines on swimmers, amateur fishermen without fishing licenses, ordinary citizens, who spend their time fishing for sea urchins.

Recreational fishing for sea urchins is only permitted for holders of amateur fishing licenses by Community and national law. Amateur license holders are allowed to catch 30 sea urchins per boat, and for the amateur only to catch only 20 sea urchins.

It is also worth noting that professional fishing and sea urchin processing is, at least formally, controlled by the Greek authorities. At Greek taverns and restaurants, sea urchins come either from illegal professional or amateur fishermen or from other parts of the country.

No one can control where they come from, as few professionals hold invoices. The question is whether the quantities of sea urchins that reach the tables come from certified units or from the legal activities of professional and amateur (licensed) fishermen.

Sea urchin, according to expert fishermen, sits in one spot and concentrates the dirt of the sea, much more when contaminated.

It is another myth that sea urchins are found in clean seas. Large numbers of sea urchins are located next to fish farms, which means …

In addition, workers who are tasked with “peeling” the urchins that reach our tables need to be healthy, as the various viruses are easily transmitted through these organisms.

For this reason consumers are advised to buy sea urchins only from certified establishments or at least ask the owners of the restaurants where the sea urchins come from, using their own pressure. At the same time, the audit authorities are expected to carry out inspections to detect possible cases of sea urchins being trafficked into restaurants and other markets.