Kodiak sea cucumber divers get a 13-day opening after forecasts show no gale warnings

Commercial divers can harvest red sea cucumbers around Kodiak for the next 13 days after the Alaska Department of Fish and Game opened the fishery Saturday at 5 pm. It closes at 11:59 am Nov. 13, according to the department's emergency order.

The season runs Oct. 1 through April 30, but divers can fish only when the department opens a period. It opened this one because Friday morning's marine forecasts for the waters around Kodiak carried no gale warnings.

The fishery has shrunk since its early years. In 1993, two years after commercial harvest began, 50 divers took 564,516 pounds. In the 2023/24 season, eight permits on three boats made 18 landings. The last publicly reported harvest was 134,370 pounds in 2015/16. Later harvests are confidential because few processors buy sea cucumbers, the department says.

This season's harvest limit is 120,000 pounds of gutted sea cucumber, the same as the last two seasons, split among eight sections. Eastside gets the most, 40,000 pounds. The department warned it could close the district or individual sections early if fishing is poor.

Divers need a Kodiak sea cucumber dive permit card, must register with the department and must line up a buyer before they harvest.

Last season's only opening came Nov. 22 and ran 22 days.