This time we were back at Red Rocks on the hunt for more crayfish. It was the first time I didn't see a single crayfish whatsoever on a hunt and certainly not for lack of trying. I spent most of the time with my head under the seaweed searching through every rock formation, crevasse, and ledge. Not a single crayfish. Oh well.

Rather than come back without anything, we started picking up kina (sea urchins). My buddy was keen to bring some home and prepare them in a meal. We came across a few nests and of course they were easy picking. We probably came back with 30-40 of them.

That night we grilled up the crayfish and cracked open the kina. It really wasn't so much cracking as it was cutting with a pair of scissors. Inside they're pretty gross.

Kina cutting

It's the yellow orange bits inside that are edible so those were scooped out with a spoon.

They can be prepared a few different ways but apparently they're also edible raw.

Getting some raw kina

Raw kina

The darker kina is very bitter (which is what I'm tasting in the video below). The lighter kina is less bitter but still not what I could consider tasty.

Tasting raw kina for the first time

All in all I'm glad I tried it but I could never make a meal of it. 😅

Location: Wellington, Karori, New Zealand

Dive Number:   161 Bottom Time: 35m Time In: 2:41 p.m. Tank In: Max Depth: 16.10 ft Table Used:

Mix:   Air Safety Stop: 3m Time Out: 3:16 p.m. Tank Out: Average Depth: 13.10 ft Start Pressure Group:

Surface Interval:   1h 11m End Pressure Group:

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