Posted by jlyle on January 14, 2005 at 11:25:52:
In Reply to: price hike for abalone, shark's fins and sea cucumber posted by on January 14, 2005 at 08:18:41:
I looked in the California 2005 Sport fishing regs and sea cucumbers are not a regulated species of invertebrates. There is a commerical fishery that requires a license and is regulated.
I've eaten sea cucumbers in a variety of Chinese dishes and, IMHO, there are many other things that I am more fond of. It has the consistency of the piece of pork (fatback) that you find in a can of Campbells Pork & Beans and is tasteless as far as I can tell. I think the attraction for sea cucumbers is symbolic; it's considered to be an aphrodisiac in many Asian cultures.
Here's a link to an article on the state of the sea cucumber fishery in California:
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/mrd/status/sea_cucumbers.pdf