Southeast's sea cucumber divers get a smaller catch this fall

Southeast Alaska's sea cucumber divers get a smaller catch this fall. Fish and Game will open the dive fishery Oct. 5 with a limit of 1,397,600 pounds, about 18 percent below last season and lower still than the year before.

Last season put 142 divers on the water. They made 1,122 landings worth about $4.4 million at $2.87 a pound, and finished 11 percent under the limit.

That season also ran late. The Board of Fisheries gave the department authority in 2025 to extend past March 31 into April when harvest remains and a market exists, and last year's did not close until April 29. Divers who want a late opening in an area with catch left have to tell the department by noon Thursday of the prior week.

The fishery opens area by area, then weekly, until each area hits its cap or the season ends March 31. Nineteen areas open Oct. 5 from 8 am to 3 pm and again Tuesday morning. Moira Sound carries the largest share at 158,700 pounds, followed by Peril Strait at 139,500 and Seymour Canal at 124,400. Southeast Admiralty is the smallest at 16,500.

Everything must be picked by hand. Mixed gases and saturation diving stay prohibited, which the department says leaves the animals in deeper water as a refuge. Nitrox is allowed below 40 percent oxygen.

No permit holder may land more than 2,000 pounds of gutted product in a single period. Dive gear cannot be used for subsistence, personal use or sport diving for 14 days on either side of fishing. Fish tickets, with dive minutes recorded, are due within a week.