Ochre Sea Star

At a glance

Ochre Sea Star (Pisaster ochraceus) is an echinoderm with specific harvest rules tracked in 1 of 66 jurisdictions covered by CatchRules.

Confirmed by 71,542 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with California, British Columbia, and Washington the top jurisdictions by observation count.

Notable details

• A keystone species — its removal allows mussels to crowd out most other intertidal life.
• Despite the name 'ochre,' individuals are commonly purple or bright orange, rarely yellow-brown.
• It can reach about 50 cm across and live more than 20 years.
• It digests mussels by extruding its stomach through its mouth directly into the prey's shell.
• Sea Star Wasting Syndrome beginning in 2013 killed millions of ochre sea stars along the Pacific coast.

Where Ochre Sea Star are seen

• California39,652 iNat obs
• British Columbia13,217 iNat obs
• Washington10,775 iNat obs
• Oregon6,854 iNat obs
• Alaska1,044 iNat obs

Jurisdictions with rules for Ochre Sea Star

• OregonUnited States · official source

Background

Pisaster ochraceus, generally known as the purple sea star, ochre sea star, or ochre starfish, is a common starfish found among the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Identified as a keystone species, Pisaster is considered an important indicator for the health of the intertidal zone.

Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Ochre Sea Star article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.

Other starfish/urchins/cucumbers on CatchRules

• Mottled StarEvasterias troschelii