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Sea urchin:professional buying guide, winter season, minimum sizes, health label

Sea urchin for the trade: short winter season in Provence, minimum sizes, health label, checking a live lot, origins and prices.

Updated 7 min readLiveCriée editorial team

Contents
  1. Buying sheet
  2. When to buy fresh sea urchin?
  3. How to check a lot of sea urchins?
  4. Mediterranean, Atlantic or imported: what difference?
  5. What to replace sea urchin with?
  6. What makes the price of sea urchin move?
  7. Frequently asked questions

The sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus) is an echinoderm of the rocky bottoms and seagrass beds of the Mediterranean and the North-East Atlantic, sold alive, whose gonads are eaten raw; in France, its fishing is governed by national minimum sizes and, in Provence, by a short winter season set by prefectoral order. The French name used by the FAO in its species list (ASFIS) is "oursin-pierre"; in the trade, people simply say "oursin". Like a live shellfish, it travels with a health label.

Buying sheet

Sea urchin
Scientific nameParacentrotus lividus (FAO French name: oursin-pierre)
Season in ProvenceWinter only. Seasons 2023 to 2026: opening on 15 December, closing at the end of February in the Bouches-du-Rhône and the Var, on 15 April for professionals in the Alpes-Maritimes. A draft order of 2026 would push the closing back to 31 March in the Bouches-du-Rhône and the Var
Closed seasonBouches-du-Rhône, Var, Alpes-Maritimes: fishing prohibited from the end of the season to 14 December, whatever the method of capture (prefectoral order). Elsewhere, rules set locally: check with the regional fisheries committee
Minimum size (commercial fishing)Mediterranean: 5 cm excluding spines at sea, 3.5 cm in lagoons. Atlantic, English Channel, North Sea: 4 cm excluding spines; 5.5 cm in Brittany (French order of 28 January 2013 as amended)
Size grades on price lists (examples of trade practice, not a standard)By the piece, by the dozen or by the kilo; "large" or "medium" depending on diameter
Fish auctionsNo detailed sales from FranceAgriMer: sea urchin is not among the main species of the French fish auctions
OriginsFrench fishing in the Mediterranean (Provence) and the Atlantic; imports, including 118 t from Iceland in 2024 (customs category "sea urchins", with no species specified)
Fishing methodCommercial fishing governed by local licences and periods; in Provence, the order covers all methods of capture
YieldOnly the gonads are eaten: no figure published by our sources (FAO, Seafish), measure it on your own deliveries
StorageAlive, kept cool, in its original package with the health label

Seasons: order of the prefect of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of 29 September 2023 (three seasons) and draft order submitted to consultation from 7 to 28 September 2026 (DIRM Méditerranée). Sizes: French order of 28 January 2013 as amended, commercial fishing. Imports: FranceAgriMer, foreign trade 2024 (customs).

  • 5 cmminimum diameter, excluding spines, for a sea urchin caught at sea in the Mediterranean
  • 15 Decemberopening of the fishery in the Bouches-du-Rhône, the Var and the Alpes-Maritimes
  • 118 tof sea urchins imported from Iceland in 2024, at about €10.70/kg on average

Source: French order of 28 January 2013 as amended; DIRM Méditerranée, 2023 order and 2026 draft; FranceAgriMer, foreign trade 2024.

When to buy fresh sea urchin?

In Provence, from mid-December to the end of winter, and no later: it is the regulation that makes the season, not an auction rhythm. FranceAgriMer publishes no monthly series of sea urchin sales, so this page does not draw a calendar for it.

DepartmentSeasons 2023 to 2026 (order of 29 September 2023)Draft order of 2026, for three seasons
Bouches-du-Rhône, VarFishing open from 15 December to the end of FebruaryFishing prohibited from 1 April to 14 December, so open from 15 December to 31 March
Alpes-Maritimes, commercial fishersFishing open from 15 December to 15 AprilFishing prohibited from 16 April to 14 December
Recreational fishing, three departmentsOpen from 15 December to the end of February, 2 dozen per fisher per dayProhibited from 1 April to 14 December, same quota

Sources: DIRM Méditerranée, explanatory note and draft order (public consultation from 7 to 28 September 2026). The draft implements the decision of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regional fisheries committee of 15 April 2026.

These dates were tightened in 2023 because the resource was becoming scarce, according to the DIRM Méditerranée note. In spring 2026, the "sea urchin" commission of the regional fisheries committee found an overall stable presence and many small individuals, which led to the proposal to extend the season by one month. Outside Provence, periods and licences are set region by region: ask for the precise origin of the lot.

How to check a lot of sea urchins?

  • The health label. Live sea urchins fall under the same hygiene rules as live bivalve molluscs, except purification (Regulation (EC) 853/2004): they travel with an identification mark of the dispatcher. If you split the package, keep the label for at least 60 days.
  • The production area. Shellfish harvesting areas are classified by group; sea urchins belong to the group of gastropods, echinoderms and tunicates. Ask for the production area of the lot.
  • Signs of life. A live sea urchin reacts to touch: its spines move. Discard those whose spines fall off or stay still. This is a trade clue, not proof.
  • The size. Measured without the spines: at least 5 cm for a Mediterranean sea urchin caught at sea.

Mediterranean, Atlantic or imported: what difference?

  • Provence supplies fresh winter sea urchin, over a short season and under quota for recreational fishers.
  • The Atlantic and the English Channel have their own minimum sizes (4 cm, 5.5 cm in Brittany) and local fishing rules.
  • Imports fill the rest: in 2024, Iceland shipped 118 t of sea urchins to France. The customs category does not specify the species: an imported sea urchin is not necessarily a Paracentrotus lividus. The scientific name decides.

What to replace sea urchin with?

UseSubstituteNote
Seafood platterWarty venus clam, Pacific oysterlive shellfish, same health label
Out of season in ProvenceSea urchin from another origincheck the species and the area on the label
Taste of the sea in a sauce or a tartarePacific oysterdifferent taste, available all year round

What makes the price of sea urchin move?

There is no public auction price for sea urchin: the sales declared at fish auctions published by FranceAgriMer do not detail it, either nationally or auction by auction. The only public benchmark found is an average import price: about €10.70/kg for the 118 t that came from Iceland in 2024.

Public benchmark, 2024Sea urchin
Imports from Iceland118 t
Average import price (Iceland)about €10.70/kg
First-sale price at auctionnot published

Year 2024. FranceAgriMer, foreign trade in fishery and aquaculture products (customs), line "sea urchins, etc.", all sea urchin species and all presentations combined. It is not an auction price, and it is not the price paid to your supplier: transport and margin are added to it.

With no public series, the page cannot put figures on the seasonality of the price. The levers, however, are known:

  • The regulation: in Provence, local fresh sea urchin only exists between 15 December and the end of the season set by order; outside this window, supply comes from elsewhere.
  • The origin: sea urchins from Provence, from the Atlantic or imported cannot be compared without the scientific name and the area.
  • The unit of sale: by the piece, by the dozen or by the kilo; always bring the price back to the same unit before comparing two offers.
  • The size: a large sea urchin weighs more per kilo, but it is the gonad fill that makes its value in the kitchen, to be measured on your own deliveries.
  • The weather: in rough weather, the small boats stay in port and the week's landings drop.

Frequently asked questions

When is sea urchin in season?

In Provence, in winter: from 2023 to 2026, fishing opened on 15 December and closed at the end of February in the Bouches-du-Rhône and the Var, on 15 April for professionals in the Alpes-Maritimes. A draft order of 2026 would push the closing back to 31 March in the Bouches-du-Rhône and the Var: check the order in force.

What is the minimum size of a sea urchin?

For commercial fishing, 5 cm excluding spines in the Mediterranean (3.5 cm for a sea urchin caught in a lagoon), 4 cm in the Atlantic, the English Channel and the North Sea, and 5.5 cm in Brittany (French order of 28 January 2013 as amended).

What is the price of sea urchin?

No auction price is published for sea urchin. The only public benchmark is an average import price: about €10.70/kg for sea urchins from Iceland in 2024 (FranceAgriMer, customs), all species combined. The price paid to your supplier adds transport and margin.

Does sea urchin have a health label?

Yes. Live sea urchins follow the hygiene rules for live shellfish (Regulation (EC) 853/2004): they carry an identification mark of the dispatcher, and the label is kept for at least 60 days when the package is split.

Can sea urchin caught in summer in Provence be sold?

No: in the Bouches-du-Rhône, the Var and the Alpes-Maritimes, sea urchin fishing is prohibited from the end of the season to 14 December, whatever the method of capture. A sea urchin offered in summer comes from another area: ask for the origin of the lot.

Sources

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