The Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources said the beche-de-mer fishery will be shut from Saturday, 31 October 2026, in a notice dated Honiara, 01st October 2026 and carried on the Solomon Islands Government portal.
The Ministry said the notice was directed at fishermen, exporters, local agents and consumers, along with other stakeholders, and that the date chosen leaves enough time for them to wind up their business and for the Ministry and enforcement bodies to carry out compliance work.
According to the statement, the weeks before the cut-off let the Ministry's Compliance Officers finish the stock-take and checking of beche-de-mer held for export and for local consumption, give exporters a chance to ship out stock they hold lawfully, and give local fishermen a chance to sell what they have lawfully harvested.
The Ministry said the timing also serves as notice to stakeholders and to the agencies that will enforce the measure, among them the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force, the Honiara City Council and the Customs and Excise Division.
Once the closure takes effect, every activity tied to the fishery must stop, the Ministry said, adding that from that date no one should harvest, receive, land, process, sell, possess or export beche-de-mer.
People in the trade, including exporters, traders, fishermen, vendors, agents and consumers, were told by the Ministry to note the date and to meet the requirements in full. The Ministry said enforcement would apply to anything done in breach of the closure.
The Ministry said it valued the cooperation and backing of stakeholders in the sustainable management and conservation of Solomon Islands' beche-de-mer resources.
Source: Based on the statement "Beche-de-mer Fishery Closure Set for 31 October" from the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, published on the Solomon Islands Government portal (solomons.gov.sb) on 2 October 2026 and dated 01st October 2026. https://solomons.gov.sb/beche-de-mer-fishery-closure-set-for-31-october/