Diet does wonders for kina roe

Scientists have turned chefs to cook up a treat for kina that may treble the size of the highly prized roe.

The delicacy can fetch anywhere from $20 to $500 a kilogram in places such as the Tokyo Central Wholesale market, depending on its quality and availability.

Scientists from the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa) are working with Sealord Group and Nippon Suisan Kaisha of Japan to develop special diets that will both increase the yield and quality of the roe harvested from kina.

Niwa scientist Chris Woods said the institute was studying the best holding conditions for kina taken from the wild, and Sealord was providing a base diet for the species, derived from fish byproducts.

Nippon Suisan were helping to taste-test the roe from each batch of trials.

"Depending on dietary formulation - and a suite of other factors - the gonad size of our kina can be easily doubled or tripled over a 10-week period," Mr Woods said.

Niwa's Mahanga Bay aquaculture facility in Wellington was achieving dramatic improvements in the quality of roe from kina.

- NZPA


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