Fish and Game closes West Behm Canal to sea cucumber divers for the rest of the season

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game closed West Behm Canal to commercial sea cucumber diving for the rest of the 2026/27 season, the agency announced Thursday. Divers had taken 34,200 pounds of the area's 36,100-pound guideline harvest level, the state's term for an area's season cap.

The state's Southeast sea cucumber management plan requires an area to close once its cap is reached and bars reopening it until at least two more seasons have passed. The department identifies localized depletion as a conservation concern because sea cucumbers grow slowly and recruitment is sporadic.

West Behm Canal joins the West Shore of Gravina Island and Zimovia Strait and Anita Bay, which closed in October after divers reached their caps. In the same announcement, the department raised the weekly harvest limit from 2,000 pounds to 2,500 pounds. Thursday's announcement keeps that limit at 2,500 pounds across Southeast.

The season opened Oct. 5 with 1,397,600 pounds available regionwide and is scheduled to run through March 31, 2027, though a new regulation lets the department extend it to April 30. That regional cap is 18% below the 1,706,100 pounds set for last season. Divers finished the 2025/26 season with 1,518,700 pounds harvested, 11% under that cap, according to the department. The 142 divers made 1,122 landings, and the catch was worth about $4.4 million to fishermen.

For divers still working the region, Peril Strait, with a 139,500-pound guideline harvest level, opens from 8 am to 3 pm Monday, Nov. 9. Stikine Strait and Chichagof Passage open from 8 am to noon Tuesday, Nov. 10. Other areas in Districts 1, 2, 3, 7, 9, 11, 12 and 13 have openings between Sunday and Tuesday.

The department's next advisory is due Thursday, Nov. 12.