Over 420 tonnes of sea urchin — UNI in Japanese — are harvested every year by RPK Soling, the largest harvester above the Arctic Circle. The company’s vessels operate in the harsh Barents Sea off the Kola Peninsula.

Early morning, dead calm. The cold surface of the water is still and clear all the way to the horizon. The Ruby-1, a vessel specially equipped for sea urchin harvesting, sets out. Modern equipment and comfortable conditions make it possible to fish far from shore, in areas untouched and inaccessible to competitors.

Gear
Most of the crew on board are divers. Their underwater gear is the pitomza — a large bag made of very strong mesh. A motorboat, the vessel’s auxiliary launch, takes the divers to the harvesting spots, 200–400 metres from each other and from the vessel.

Fins, strong gloves (wild animals have sharp spines!) — and the diver plunges into the water. Hard, demanding work begins.

Underwater
Sea urchins are hand-picked at depths of 15–30 metres. A mesh bag holds up to 30 kg of live, spiny cargo. As soon as it is full, a buoy is released to the surface; the launch comes alongside and hauls up the swollen bag.

The masters of underwater harvesting continue collecting from the seabed, surfacing only occasionally for a breath of fresh air and a rest. Over a long day, each diver’s catch reaches 500–600 kg.

Return
On board, the catch is carefully sorted: small urchins are released back into the sea to grow, large ones are packed into crates for processing ashore. Finally, with up to 7 tonnes in the hold, Ruby-1 returns to the port of Murmansk — and the Soling Seafood onshore facility takes over without delay.

Continued: the journey of roe from vessel to buyer →
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