On a sunny afternoon, Port of Bandon director Jeff Griffin pulled back black shade cloth from the corner of one of nearly a dozen aquaculture tanks lining the dock. Spiny, purple urchins clung to the sides. Down below, others slowly crept along the bottom of the tank.

“We’ve been testing out different feeding systems. They seem to like cabbage along with red algae the best,” Griffin said. “In kelp beds, without a predator, they chew through the kelp forests without restraint. Here, when we drop in cabbage, they seem to courteously pass pieces down for those below.”

Griffin and his team are part of ambitious statewide efforts led by divers, researchers, tribal leaders, entrepreneurs, chefs and visitor associations, all scrambling to prevent further decimation of once towering kelp beds by ravenous purple urchins.

Steve Rumrill, Shellfish Program Leader for Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, said 70% of Oregon’s kelp has been lost in the last eight to 10 years.

“We had what we call the perfect storm,” Rumrill explained. “Due to shifting ocean climate, unusually warm seawater, and the mass mortality of sea stars, the dramatic increase in the purple sea urchins has led to dead zones where thousands and thousands of emaciated, ‘zombie’ urchins carpet the barren sea floor.”

Tom Calvanese, Oregon State University’s Port Orford Field Station manager and Oregon Kelp Alliance (ORKA) director, asserted that restoring Oregon’s ocean habitat is an “all hands on deck” moment requiring as many resources as possible to stabilize the kelp forests and the ecosystems they support.

“We need citizen divers to cull urchins. We need research divers to garner a better understanding of the crisis at hand. We need commercial divers. And we need resources to support restorative commercial enterprises that can provide opportunities for small business owners.”

In 2021, Griffin was one of Oregon Kelp Alliance’s hammer-wielding divers, culling urchins overpopulating Nellie’s Cove in Port Orford. After an afternoon of culling, Griffin began mulling another solution.

“What if instead of killing these urchins, we harvested them, fattened them up, and sold them for their uni, an international seafood delicacy of the once prolific red urchin population?” Griffin believed that purple urchins, under the right conditions, could produce a delicious uni comparable to the more highly prized red urchins.

Combining Oregon State University (OSU) research permits with Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC) Sea Grant funds, Griffin’s team embarked on a study testing whether barren urchins could be made commercially viable.

Dividing the zombie urchins into various tanks along the dock, they began their tests. What conditions would the urchins need to stay alive? What would they eat? What wouldn’t they eat? How long would it take for emaciated urchins to become edible? And could they become tasty enough that people would want to eat them? After months of experimenting, the team developed a system where the zombie urchins could be fattened into delicious commercial grade uni within 10-12 weeks.

While his aquaculture team experimented with how to best “grow” uni in these starved urchins, Griffin networked with divers, chefs, other researchers, and the Oregon Coast Visitor Association.

Brad Bailey, a commercial diver, was one of the first to partner with Griffin. Using Bailey’s commercial permit, Griffin began a new experiment. In a still thriving kelp forest, the pair harvested healthy urchins while purposely creating an urchin-free “moat” around the edge of the forest. Their hope was to slow the pace of destruction. A year later, the forest was still flourishing.

Nearly two years after Griffin began his trials, Port of Bandon hosted a community tasting event. Rory Butts, executive chef at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, attended.

“Cabbage-fed urchin was the winner, hands down,” Butts said. “Uni is not for everyone. Many of our guests have never even heard of it.” Butts’s chefs began experimenting with dishes that would be ‘accessible’ to their diners. Uni carbonara served with crispy fried dulse was the first to reach the menu.

“It was quite dramatic,” said Butts. “When the dish was served, a couple from another table asked what it was.” Recognizing that his efforts won’t solve the kelp crisis, Butts believes serving uni introduces golfers from around the world to Oregon’s coastal challenges.

Marcus Hinz of the Oregon Coast Visitor Association (OCVA) agrees with Butts.

“Uni is not going to be for the average local person. But, if it brings in visitor dollars to support our communities, that’s a start.”

According OCVA’s latest figures, some $840 million is spent each year by visitors to the coast on food alone, but very little of that fortune is spent on locally landed seafood. In fact, 90% of seafood sold and consumed along the Oregon Coast is not from Oregon.

To keep more seafood in their community and support a local seafood economy, OCVA launched its ocean cluster initiative focused on enhancing the use of local sustainable seafood in small businesses through infrastructure investments, workforce training, and partnership development. Partnering with the Port of Bandon and nearly a dozen entities who share their vision, OCVA’s ocean cluster initiative aims to improve local seafood access to local markets, impacting fishermen, processors, wholesalers, retailers and consumers.

One of OCVA’s partners, Newport-based Central Coast Food Web (CCFW), was recently awarded a $477,000 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Local Agriculture Market Program. Founded by restaurateur and sustainable fishery leader Laura Anderson, the Central Coast Food Web provides services and support to small, independent food producers to make it easier for all people to eat local food.

Griffin’s Port of Bandon project and Bailey’s newly launched enterprise, OoNee Sea Ranch, were both awarded funding assistance from CCFW.

Aaron Huang, OoNee’s cofounder and chief executive officer, asserted, “Prior to the opening of Central Coast Food Web there was no place to locally process our urchin. They can survive for decades nearly starving, but once harvested urchins need to be processed quickly. OCFW’s equipment alone has been a godsend. But perhaps equally importantly, they’ve helped us navigate complicated and confounding regulatory requirements.” Huang emphasized, “There are millions of urchins devouring kelp, ready to be harvested. If we can scale our business and bring processed uni to market quickly, we can start to bring our ocean ecosystem back into balance, provide a great product for an expanding market, and make a sustainable livelihood.”

Huang believes regional leaders like Griffin, Hinz, Calvanese and Anderson are the vital connective tissue needed to ensure success of emerging regenerative aquaculture businesses.

“These people see what’s needed. They are the ones connecting with legislatures, regulators, and also the local community. They know what needs to be done.”

Frustrated by the slow pace of change, Huang added, “But is it percolating up to the state level? Can the necessary changes in licensing, permits and other regulations move fast enough?” Huang paused.

“Without a clear framework and sufficient funding from the state, many restorative aquaculture businesses won’t succeed. We’re hoping people like Jeff will encourage the state to help businesses like ours turn zombie kelp destroyers into delicious delicacies.”