![]() ![]() ![]() Erik Olson, WFDW, patrols Puget Sound by night looking to catch shellfish poachers in the act. His partner, Officer Carly Peters, peers through night-vision binoculars, calling out directions to avoid floating logs or buoys. Erik Olson of Washington State Fish and Wildlife is at the helm. The boat is a Fish and Wildlife patrol vessel and Sgt. The motor’s hum and the faint spray of bioluminescence in the boat’s wake is the only evidence of its presence. A boat runs blind through the inky blackness - no onboard lights, no radar signals announcing the location. Clouds blot out the moon and the stars, making it nearly impossible to tell where the sky ends and the water begins. It’s past 11 on a rainy January night in Puget Sound. About 90 percent of the geoducks harvested in the United States are sent to Asia, where they are served raw at sushi restaurants in Japan, used in soups and stews in Korea, or cooked in a fondue-style hot pot in China. Those soaring prices have created an incentive for poachers back in Puget Sound, giving rise to an international black market. Rising demand, especially among China's growing middle class, has sent geoduck retail prices in Asia to as high as $150 per pound. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife At the same time, the overall value of geoduck prices has risen dramatically. The total amount of geoduck catch reported by fishers (landings) has remained fairly steady since a 2.7 percent harvest rate was established in the 1980s. “When you're harvesting geoducks, it's like picking up $20 bills,” says Bob Sizemore, lead research scientist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife With the average adult geoduck weighing one to three pounds, a good geoduck diver can harvest thousands of dollars’ worth in a few hours. Wholesale geoduck prices at Puget Sound docks have more than doubled from $4 per pound in 2006 to as much as $15 per pound today. ![]()
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