NEW DELHI: A recent study has found out that sea cucumbers, which are crucial for marine ecosystem balance, are being illegally traded at an alarming rate in India causing a serious threat to the existence of marine species.
The study titled “In Deep Waters”, undertaken jointly by TRAFFIC, a leading NGO working globally on trade in wild animals and plants, and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) India, on illegal wildlife trade of sea cucumbers has revealed that 101.40 tonnes, that is, 6,976 sea cucumber individuals were seized from 2010-2021.
The study report that was released ahead of World Fisheries Day on 21 November 2022, a day dedicated to highlighting the critical importance of healthy ocean ecosystems and the need to ensure sustainable fisheries stocks states that “During the 12-year period, a total of 163 seizures were recorded, of which a maximum of 139 seizures were reported from Tamil Nadu, which accounts for 85% of all the sea cucumber seizures.”
Tamil Nadu was followed by 15 seizures in Lakshadweep, four in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, two in Karnataka, and one each in Manipur and Kerala, respectively. The report looked into the reasons behind the unsustainable sea cucumber trade and found that demand for sea cucumbers in East Asian and Southeast Asian markets, along with the ease of harvest and low processing costs (drying), are proving detrimental to the species and their survival in India.
According to the seizure reports, Sri Lanka, China, and Southeast Asia were the top three destinations. Commenting on the report, Ravi Singh, Secretary General & CEO of WWF-India, said “Adequate measures to curb trafficking and illegal trade of the species through timely enforcement action is necessary.”