BANGOR, Maine - Maine marine regulators are proposing the same length sea urchin season as the one that ended in March.
"The fishery itself is stabilized over the past few years," says Marine Resources spokesman Jeff Nichols says the seasons in both sectors of the urchin fishery, south and east, will remain the same, with a 15-day fishery in the southern section, and a 38-day fishery in the eastern portion.
Nichols says the urchins are harvested for their uni, or roe. "It's served as a type of sushi."
The fishery was worth about $4.3 million last season - the lowest total since 1989 - with landings last year of about 1.5 million pounds. That's in sharp contrast to the nearly 40 million pounds pulled out of the water 20 years ago, before the fishery was regulated for longevity.
The 2016-17 season will run between September and March, as it did last season.
