Mahon R. and Parker C., 1999. Barbados sea eggs, past, present and future. Fisheries Division, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Barbados Fisheries Management Plan, Public Information Document No.1: 15 pp.
Introduction
In Barbados there is a small, but important, fishery for the roe of the white sea urchin (Tripneustes ventricosus) known as sea eggs. The fishery for this traditional delicacy has been carried out for over a hundred years. The resource has a history of fluctuations leading to the first conservation legislation in 1879, forbidding the taking of sea eggs from April to August. In the 1970s and 1980s the abundance of these sea urchins in the fishing areas on the south, southeast and east coasts declined dramatically, to the extent that by the late 1980s the fishery had collapsed. Following a three year ban extending from 1998 to 2001, sea egg stocks dramatically recovered.
However, Can we keep them from disappearing once more? The answer is yes, through good management of course. But, what is that? In our view, a combination of science, knowledge and commitment from the people who make their living from the resource and cooperation from the public who cannot wait to have some to eat.
In this booklet, we provide some of the information available about sea eggs and the fishery and attempt to show how this information can be used. Hopefully, in some small way this will contribute to the recovery of the sea egg fishery.