Commercial Cucumber Regulations | Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife

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NOTE: The information on this webpage may not be the most current information regarding the commercial Sea Cucumber fishery.

The most current information can be obtained by calling the hotline

Sea Cucumber
Information Hotline
1-866-207-8223

Olympia area
(360) 902-2829

For more information
on commercial fishing,
please contact the
WDFW Fish Program.
360-902-2700

For fishing regulation
questions, e-mail us at:
fishregs@dfw.wa.gov

For all other questions and comments, e-mail us at:
fishpgm@dfw.wa.gov

Commercial Cucumber Regulations

Last Updated: May 21, 2012

Sea Cucumber Regulations

The commercial non-Indian sea cucumber fishery is currently closed state-wide.

Season Recommendations

In late April 2012, current non-Indian commercial sea cucumber license holders were issued a poll regarding the specifics of the 2012-2013 sea cucumber harvest season. Majority opinions from poll respondents have been provided to WDFW senior management and the following season recommendations have been determined. It is recommended that legal harvest begin on Monday, June 25, 2012 and occur on Monday and Tuesday of each week in the San Juan Islands area, the Strait of Juan de Fuca area, the Central Puget Sound area and the South Puget Sound area (Districts 1, 2, 3 and 5 respectively). It has been further recommended that the maximum weekly landing of sea cucumbers for the combined two-day fishery be 1,600 pounds per valid sea cucumber license. These are recommendations only at this time. An emergency WAC regulation will be issued by June 22 and the standard notification process will occur at that time.

Harvest Quotas and Landings

Non-Indian sea cucumber annual quota shares and preliminary harvest landings (in pounds) for the 2012-2013 season are listed in the table below.

Sea Cucumber Harvest Area	2012-2013 State Quota Share	2012-2013 State Fishery Landings
San Juan Island - District 1	337,000	Closed
Strait of Juan de Fuca - District 2	78,000	Closed
Central Puget Sound - District 3	19,364	Closed
Hood Canal - District 4	Closed	n/a
South Puget Sound - District 5	34,000	Closed

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Washington State Commercial Sea Cucumber Harvest Districts

¹These closed areas pertain to the commercial sea cucumber fishery. In addition, see permanent WACs 220-20 and 220-16 for more information on Marine Protected Areas, Marine Preserve Areas and Conservation Area closures.

Legal descriptions of commercial sea cucumber harvest districts are found in WAC 220-52-071 Sea Cucumbers.

Legal descriptions of commercial sea cucumber catch reporting areas can be found in WAC 220-22-400 Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas within Puget Sound

Permanent WAC's