Gomeran Fishermen propose Sea urchin business

Considered a delicacy throughout Japan and many Mediterranean countries, the sea urchin has suffered only bad press around the Canary Islands in recent years, where it's numbers have risen to plague and pestilence levels and campaigns for eradicating them have taken on military style proportions.

So the Gomeran fishermen have come up with the novel idea to control the plague and create jobs by turning this proliferation of urchins into a "new seafood resource" for the islands.

(Always hoping that the ones plaguing the islands are not one of the vast majority of the 750 odd sea urchin species that are unfit for human consumption. I mention this only to warn you that it probably isn't a good idea to harvest your own.)

From March 25th they have an exhibition, which has already travelled around various parts of the archipelago, showing off the urchin's possibilities.

Did you know? A 'riccio' is a hedgehog in Italian. A 'riccio al mare' is a sea hedgehog or in other words a sea urchin, just as in Spanish it's erizo de mar (sea hedgehog - an old meaning in English of urchin is the same). (Usually minus the snorkel.)

Here are a few things you can try when the new delicacy hits the shops:

• Sea Urchins with Creamy Vegetable Sauce
• Tagliolini ai Ricci di Mare
• Linguine with sea urchin
• Edible sea urchins
• Sea Urchin recipes