The state Board of Land and Natural Resources unanimously approved an emergency rule Friday to ban sea cucumber harvesting for 120 days in Hawaii’s nearshore waters.

The rule, which Gov. David Ige approved late Friday, is effective immediately. A violation is considered a petty misdemeanor punishable by up to 30 days in jail, with criminal fines from $250 to $1,000 and administrative fines from $1,000 to $3,000, depending on the number of offenses.

The rule comes after the Department of Land and Natural Resources received reports within the past few weeks of overharvesting of the invertebrates off Maui and Oahu.

Investigators learned sea cucumbers may be sold for $5 each to a new company that processes and exports them to China. Anonymous sources informed officials that the business intends to ship 1 to 3 tons of dried sea cucumber from each island to China.

Photos of mass harvesting circulated on social media and reported by news media prompted an outcry from the community, DLNR chairwoman Suzanne Case said in a news release.

The emergency rule prohibits taking, possessing or selling sea cucumbers from state waters.

Before the emergency rule, harvesting of sea cucumbers was legal in Hawaii as long as you had a commercial fishing license.

More than 50 species of sea cucumbers are in Hawaii waters. The animals, sometimes referred to as "the vacuum cleaners of the ocean," play a vital role in maintaining the health of Hawaii’s coral reefs.

During an investigation into the commercial harvesting, officials found that 17 people had been harvesting sea cucumbers on Maui. Each person took about 200 sea cucumbers a day, totaling about 3,400 sea cucumbers daily.

The Division of Aquatic Resources will spend the next four months researching the overall impact of the mass removal of sea cucumbers. Acting administrator Alton Miyasaka said, "Since we’ve never seen this extent of exploitation in Hawaii, we need to develop a clear understanding of the impacts on the fishery and aquatic environment."

The research is expected to lead to the development of permanent rules pertaining to harvesting.

The sea cucumber population has been severely affected in many countries, prompting lawmakers to enact laws to ban their harvesting or establish management programs to ensure responsible harvesting. "The harvesting of sea cucumbers has been a highly lucrative international business trade for decades with most sea cucumber products being exported to China for food and medicine," Miyasaka told the land board.