A panel made up of scientists, urchin harvesters and regulators has begun discussions on developing a fishery management plan that would look at how best to maximize the value of the fishery while also protecting the resource.

Nobody expects the industry to return to the days of the 1990s, when it employed thousands of people who harvested and processed the pincushion-looking animals, selling the golden roe to Japan, where it's a delicacy.

But developing a plan with goals, scientific criteria and a broad regulatory regime could result in a bigger fishery with more jobs, while protecting the urchin population down the road, said Larry Harris, a marine scientist at the University of New Hampshire who is chairman of a panel spearheading the plan. He'd like to see a plan developed by the end of spring and have it go into effect by fall.

Read the complete story by The AP at The Portland Press Herald.