When Ocean Networks Canada’s (ONC) marine operations team hauled out the Campbell River community observatory for its annual maintenance, they were in for a surprise. A herd of sea urchins had made the platform their home and were earning their keep by feeding on the marine debris that normally accumulates on underwater infrastructure, aka biofouling. ONC’s field services manager Paul Macoun tweeted a photo and it’s gone viral, finding an audience with both the ocean tech community, and Star Trek fans. Sea urchins bear an uncanny resemblance to tribbles, the cute fuzzy balls that ran amok on the Starship Enterprise in a memorable 1960’s episode called [“The Trouble with Tribbles”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Trouble_with_Tribbles) (Figure 1).