The uni from Santa Barbara, California, is often regarded as some of the best in the world. This meat from local sea urchins is prized for a concept chefs call merroir: the oceanic equivalent of terroir, or taste of a place. Cold, nutrient-rich waters in the Santa Barbara Channel nourish kelp forests that urchins feed on, producing creamy, golden uni that’s served in casual dining spots and Michelin-starred restaurants alike.
But behind the luxury is a fragile ecosystem. The collapse of sea star populations — specifically the Pycnopodia species — has allowed purple sea urchins, which less desirable from a culinary perspective and more destructive, to overrun kelp forests. Without predators, these urchins decimate young kelp, threatening the entire marine food chain.
Stephanie Mutz, California’s only female commercial sea urchin diver, is helping shape the state’s tightly regulated sea urchin industry. Commercial sea urchin diving in California is a field largely dominated by older men. With only 300 state-issued permits — most held by divers in their 60s — the profession is not only graying, it’s becoming nearly impenetrable to newcomers due to a permit lottery system that allows just one new diver in for every 11 who exit…