Fish and Game closes two Southeast sea cucumber areas and raises the weekly limit

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has closed two Southeast Alaska sea cucumber areas for the rest of the season after divers caught all or nearly all of what the department allows there. In the same Oct. 22 announcement, it raised the weekly harvest limit across the region to 2,500 pounds. Divers had been limited to 2,000 pounds a fishing period.

The closed areas are the west shore of Gravina Island, near Ketchikan, and Zimovia Strait and Anita Bay, near Wrangell. Divers took 63,700 pounds from Zimovia and Anita Bay, about 700 more than its 63,000-pound guideline harvest level, the amount the department allows from each area. Gravina, where divers had been down to two hours a week, closed with about 1,200 of its 81,900 pounds left.

Across Southeast, divers had landed 449,400 pounds of this season's 1.4 million-pound total, about a third, by the time the department set this week's openings. That total is 18% smaller than last season's. Last season, 142 divers landed about $4.4 million worth of sea cucumbers.

Some areas have barely been touched. Six, including Boca de Quadra and Southeast Baranof, had no reported harvest. Moira Sound had the most left, 140,500 of its 158,700 pounds.

The season runs until each area reaches its limit or March 31, and the department can extend it to April 30. Its next weekly announcement is due Thursday.