Sea urchin ban is thorn for Sardinia's fishermen

Authorities say the ban is necessary because dwindling numbers threaten "near extinction" of the creatures, which they blame on over-fishing.

But the fishermen, known as "ricciari" in Italian, are adamant there are plenty of sea urchins and that their work does not harm the environment. They are determined to fight the ban to save their livelihoods.

On a recent cold winter morning just before the ban took effect, three fishermen went out on a speedboat named Silvia to pluck some of their last urchins from the rocky seabed.

"They want to take our jobs away. Look what we have to do in the morning, it's not a game to wake up and jump straight into the water," said fisherman Massimo Sarritzu from his boat.

The fishing community of Cagliari have for decades been harvesting sea urchins from rocky waters in the south of the island before they are sold to restaurants to be used in popular Sardinian recipes.

The island's environment minister, Gabriella Murgia, imposed the ban, which started on January 22, saying research showed that the urchin population had fallen to nearly zero in some areas.