Researchers Are Using Catfish to Combat Sea Urchins In the north of Norway, researchers are now transferring catfish in an attempt to combat the sea urchin and its overgrazing of the kelp forests along the Norwegian coast. Overfishing of the sea urchins' natural predators, such as the catfish, has led to the sea urchins consuming almost 5000 km2 of kelp forests since the 1970s.