There are only very little information available on the stocks of purple sea urchin Sphaerechinus granularis in Brittany (ICES VIIe). Despite the increasing importance of S. granularis as a fishery resource in some parts of the species distribution range, its biology is scarcely studied. The existing information is limited to the reproductive biology and the life strategy of the species in relation to food availability. There are neither stock assessments nor explicit landings data available for S. granularis.
Hand picking by divers is among the most conservative fishing methods in use; As the species are individually picked up on sight, there are no discards and no bycatches (either non-target or ETP species) at all. Habitat damage is negligible. Ecosystem effects caused by this fishery are highly unlikely.
The management framework established by the EU is considered partly effective, however this small scale fishery is difficult to manage through conventional methods.