- According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, "The giant red sea cucumber (Parastichopus californicus) is the only commercially harvested sea cucumber in Alaska." Commercial harvesting began in Alaska in 1983 and peaked in 1989 with 2.3 million pounds being brought in by 205 permit holders. The Southeast Alaska Sea Cucumber Commercial Fisheries Management Plan was adopted in 1990 in an effort to regulate diving and harvesting of this food resource, according to the ADFG. That plan limits the number of diving and harvesting permits. A limit of 436 permits was imposed in 2000. As of 2009, the plan is still in effect. Sea cucumber harvesting is restricted to hand picking and divers are allowed to contain their "crop" in mesh bags to bring them to the surface.
- This is a giant red sea cucumber.
In the state of Washington, a sea cucumber dive fishery license is needed to take sea cucumbers for commercial purposes. A sea cucumber dive fishery license authorizes the use of only one diver in the water at any time during sea cucumber harvest operations. If the same vessel has been designated on two sea cucumber dive fishery licenses, two divers may be in the water. This same code specifies that no new licenses will be issued unless there are less than 25 eligible permit holders. The San Juan Channel Urchin and Cucumber Reserve, and Upright Channel are protected areas off limits to non-Indian commercial divers seeking to harvest sea cucumbers and sea urchins. Haro strait Reserve is also a protected area. As of 2009, management plans between the State and Treaty Tribes also continue to be in effect. - This is a California warty cucumber.
The coastal waters off California are home to two species of sea cucumbers--the California sea cucumber, also known as the giant red cucumber, and the warty cucumber. The warty sea cucumber is harvested almost exclusively by divers. The giant red cucumber is occasionally harvested by divers in northern California but primarily harvested by trawlers. "A special permit to fish for sea cucumbers was required beginning with the 1992-1993 fishing season. In 2000, there were 113 sea cucumber dive permits held by fishermen. That number declined to 92 in 2006. The California Fish and Game Code Section 8405-8405.4 states, "When taking sea cucumbers by diving, every diver shall have a sea cucumber diving permit issued to that person, which has not been suspended or revoked." Permit holders may take any amount of sea cucumbers. The fee for a sea cucumber permit is $250. - Harvesting of sea cucumbers is relatively new to Maine. According to the Maine Department of Marine Resources, the industry began there in 1988 and sea cucumbers are still abundant in many of Maine's coastal areas. Most harvesting there is done by scallop drag from boats between 40 and 90 feet in length. However, diving is also a viable method for harvesting. Since little information has been gathered regarding the population of sea cucumbers in Maine's waters, there are no diving regulations for collecting them. Only fishermen using a drag are required to have a commercial harvester's license issued by the state of Maine and a drag no larger than 5 feet, 6 inches. Nighttime dragging is also prohibited.
- Sea cucumber is popular in Asian cuisine.
Throughout the world, there are areas with little or no regulations for sea cucumber diving, leading to depletion of the resource. For example, fishing or diving for sea cucumbers is completely unregulated, while the demand for the product is high, in places such as Myanmar. Other locations such as the Philippines and Thailand are either unregulated or have regulations that are not well-enforced, however, the sea cucumber has become endangered in those waters and becoming more difficult to find.
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