Three poachers have been fined a combined $11,600 for taking far more than their limit of sea cucumbers from a Campbell River beach last spring, in a case DFO calls “unusual.”
On May 28 last year, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) enforcement officers were doing inspections at the beach in Willow Point, the southern part of Campbell River. When the officers identified themselves, Sufeng Weng, Yuxuan Wang, and Genjing Dai “immediately tried to dump items out of a bucket they were holding into the water,” according to DFO.
Officers ordered them to stop and discovered 43 giant red sea cucumbers and orange sea cucumbers. The daily limit per person is 12. All the live animals were returned to the ocean.
On further inspection officers found even more sea cucumbers in Weng’s vehicle, frozen in blocks, along with processed sea urchins.
DFO says the recreational fishery for sea cucumbers is small but carefully managed to protect the species, which is slow-moving and vulnerable to over-fishing.
“When individuals exceed harvest limits, they put this sensitive stock at risk,” DFO said in a statement. “Overharvesting can reduce sea cucumber densities to levels that hinder successful reproduction, threatening the species and potentially leading to future fishery restrictions or closures.”
On November 24, 2025, Dai was fined $3,000. On January 12, Wang was fined $2,600. On January 29, Weng was fined $6,000.
Most sea cucumbers harvested in BC are sold to China; the annual harvest is valued at nearly $9 million.
Dried sea cucumbers from Canada currently sell for up to $320 per kilogram on alibaba.com, and fresh or frozen sea cucumbers can sell in China for up to $37 per kilogram.
China’s 25% retaliatory tariffs imposed last year on Canadian seafood, including sea cucumbers, are still in effect, forcing local fishers to sell their harvests at up to 50% below regular prices in some cases. The tariffs were imposed in retaliation for Canada’s 100% tariff on imported Chinese electric vehicles.
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