RAMESWARAM: Nearly 600 kg of sea cucumber, an endangered coral species, being smuggled into Sri Lanka was seized near here today and one man has been arrested in, the Marine police of Tamil Nadu said.
Acting on a tip-off, the Marine Police recovered the sea cucumber hidden in a sack buried off the Thiruvadanai coast in Rameshwaram district this morning.
One Mohammed Wasim of Devipattinam has been arrested in this connection.
Sea cucumbers, which play an important role in maintaining the marine ecological system, have been classified as an endangered species and their harvest is banned under the Wildlife Protection Act.