The edible sea urchin in Amami is called “Shirahige-uni”. Sea urchins grow eating seaweeds. Formerly the coral sea of Amami abounded in seaweeds and naturally sea urchins. Anybody was allowed to gather them.

Today the off season for sea urchin gathering is pretty long, due to resource conservation, and only the members of Amami Fishermen’s Cooperative are entitled to gather them. But, a few years ago, the Cooperative started selling licensed caps for sea urchin gathering to nonmembers. A baseball style cap costs 5,000 yen and the profit is utilized for planting sea urchin fries in the neighboring sea. The open season is from July 1 to September 30.

The first picture shows people hunting for sea urchins at Ankyaba Beach, Tatsugo-cho. The cap the man is wearing in the photo reads “Licensed to gather sea urchins for the open season from July 1 to September 30, 2011.” The gathered sea urchins are split into two, using a knife or two knives or a hammer. Eggs are removed from the shell with a spoon. When I was taking photos, an elderly woman gave me a spoonful of eggs onto my left palm. The fresh smell of the sea and unique sweetness spread in my mouth as I ate them.