The Great Urchin Count
Calling all Divers!
Help map urchin populations and contribute valuable data for the future of our coastal marine ecosystems.
The 10-min count is a quick and easy method that allows divers to contribute data to map urchin barren anywhere in New Zealand as part of a group or as individual dive buddy team. The observations can be used to complement ongoing projects across Aotearoa or to track changes over time at specific locations.
Download the Great Urchin Count brochure here (pdf)
Get in touch with us if you running a kina or centro barren restoration project or if you want to start a monitoring project on your local reef!
Freedivers, Snorkellers, Boaties and Kayakers with cameras…
You can submit your images of urchin barren and kelp forests and share your observations here:
Submit your images
Certified Scuba Divers…
Download the count method and submit your 10-min urchin count results here:
Submit your Urchin Count Results
How to get involved...
Anyone can take part by taking photos and submitting the location, photos and other observations of our rocky reefs!
Certified scuba divers can contribute to the 10 minute urchin counts. Read the method and tips for best results here.
The count in a nutshell: In your buddy pair pick one diver to do the counting. For 10 minutes, swim along a chosen depth zone and count all urchins within one arm span either side of you noting:
- kina numbers
- black longspined urchin numbers
- depth
- habitat
- count location
Kina
Example of kina grazing on seaweed within kelp forests on rocky reefs in Wellington.
Kina (Evechinus chloroticus) are sea urchins endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand and a sought-after kaimoana species. They are herbivores, feeding mainly on seaweed. Kina are a natural part of healthy rocky reef ecosystems, with their numbers typically kept in balance by predators such as crayfish, snapper, blue cod, and other reef fish.
Centro (black long-spined urchin)
Example of Centro urchins grazing on reefs in the north-east of Aotearoa.
The black long-spined urchin (Centrostephanus rodgersii, “Centro”) is a range-extending species in New Zealand. It has a broader diet than kina, feeding on a wide range of algae and invertebrates. In the absence of sufficient predators, Centro can heavily impact deeper reef habitats and sensitive areas such as shaded walls and sea caves, contributing to the formation of extensive barren areas.