How to Pick Up a Sea Urchin
- 1). Identify the sea urchin you intend to pick up. Most urchins have spines that are sharp and can cause a nasty puncture wound, and many have spines that are venomous and cause infection. The tips of the spines tend to break off under the skin, making matters worse. Only a handful of species are safe to pick up without very thick gloves. These are urchins in the Cidaroida family, commonly known as "pencil" sea urchins because their spines are blunt. If you are planning to pick up a pencil sea urchin, skip Step 2.
- 2). Put on thick gloves that reach at least halfway up your forearm. Many people don't realize that urchins move, and they do so using their spines to crawl across surfaces, Their instinct is to move their spines toward any point of contact--including skin. A sea urchin can start off on your gloved hand and quickly end up on your bare forearm.
- 3). If the urchin is stuck to a rock, you may need to pry it off with a shucking knife. Slip the knife under the body of the urchin and pry upward. You may need to approach the urchin from multiple angles, working quickly, to pry all the spines loose. Commercial sea urchin harvesters use stainless steel hand rakes to pick sea urchins off rocks.
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