Context
The Indian Coast Guard team at Mandapam, Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu seized a two-tonne shipment of marine species sea cucumber, that was being smuggled via Indian waters.
What are Sea Cucumbers?
- Sea cucumbers are an important constituent of the marine ecosystem as they play an important role in maintaining the health of the ecosystem.
- In India, sea cucumber is treated as an endangered species listed under schedule 1 of Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
Smuggling
- Sea cucumbers are in high demand in China and Southeast Asia, where it is consumed as food and used in medicine.
- This endangered species is primarily smuggled from Tamil Nadu to Sri Lanka in fishing vessels from Ramanathapuram and Tuticorin districts.
Significance
- By excreting inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus, they enhance the productivity of benthic animals - those living on the ocean floor.
- One of the by-products of the sea cucumber's digestion of sand is calcium carbonate, a key component of coral reef.
- To survive, coral reefs must accumulate calcium carbonate, and thus sea cucumbers play a vital role in their preservation.
- Sea cucumbers also maintain the transparency of seawater by eating sewage. Feeding and excretion by sea cucumbers also increases alkalinity, which counteracts ocean acidification.
- Illegal harvesting and overexploitation of these animals leads to poorer sediment health, reduces nutrient recycling and impacts biodiversity.
