$11,600 in fines for 3 men caught illegally harvesting sea cucumbers on Vancouver Island

Fisheries and Oceans Canada shared this photo of the seized catch with their release. (DFO)

Three people have been fined a combined total of more than $11,000 after they were caught illegally overharvesting sea cucumbers on Vancouver Island last year.

Sufeng Weng, Yuxuan Wang and Genjing Dai were fishing on the Willow Point beach in Campbell River on May 28, 2025, when officers from Fisheries and Oceans Canada began conducting inspections in the area.

“When officers identified themselves, Mr. Weng, Mr. Wang and Mr. Dai immediately tried to dump items out of a bucket they were holding into the water,” the DFO said in a news release Tuesday.

Officers ordered the group to stop dumping out their catch, and an inspection revealed 43 giant red and orange sea cucumbers, according to the DFO. The daily possession limit for sea cucumbers is 12 per person.

“All live sea cucumbers were returned to the ocean,” the DFO said, adding that Weng told officers during the inspection that he had more sea cucumbers in his vehicle.

Searching the vehicle, officers found “an undetermined amount of what appeared to be sea cucumbers and processed sea urchin,” the department said.

The three men were fined after three separate trials in Campbell River provincial court, the most recent of which concluded in late January of this year, according to the release.

Weng was fined $6,000, Wang $2,600 and Dai $3,000 for various violations of the federal Fisheries Act and its associated regulations, as well as B.C.’s sport fishing regulations, the DFO said.

“The recreational fishery for giant red sea cucumber is small but carefully managed to protect this slow‑moving species,” the department said. “Daily catch and possession limits are in place to ensure sustainable harvest opportunities, safeguard long‑term stock health, and support First Nations communities that rely on sea cucumbers for food, social and ceremonial purposes. When individuals exceed harvest limits, they put this sensitive stock at risk.”