Tamil Nadu: Indian Coast Guard seizes sea cucumber worth Rs 8 crore in Mandapam

In Mandapam, Tamil Nadu, the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) captured two tonnes of sea cucumber worth Rs 8 crores. Working on a tip concerning unlawful sea cucumber transhipment, a forbidden marine species, the ICG team, went into action in the early hours of Sunday and followed the suspected boat involved in the alleged smuggling.

According to a senior forest officer, a patrol observed the boat cruising around suspiciously near Pamban, and the Coast Guard was notified. ICG personnel were also dispatched in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay areas to effectively cut off the boat's possible maritime escape path, according to the report. The boat was later discovered anchored around 15 kilometres south of Mandapam, without its crew, at 10.30 am on Sunday and was boarded by a Coast Guard unit, according to the ICG. 

ICG collects 200 gunny bags of sea cucumber weighing 2000 kg

The report says that the boarding team of ICG Hovercraft H-183 collected 200 gunny bags of sea cucumber weighing 2000 kg. The boat was hauled to Mandapam near Rameshwaram and handed over to forest officials with the seized sea cucumbers. The captured sea cucumbers are estimated to be worth around Rs 8 crores.

According to the inquiry, the consignment was scheduled for transhipment across the International Maritime Boundary Line during the dark hours. In China and Southeast Asia, sea cucumbers are in high demand. The ICG recovered about 1200 kg of sea cucumber near Mandapam earlier this month and arrested two people. In India, the sea cucumber is classified as an endangered species under Schedule I of the 1972 Wildlife Protection Act. It is primarily smuggled into Sri Lanka by fishing vessels from the districts of Ramanathapuram and Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu.

More about sea cucumbers

Echinoderms of the Holothuroidea class make up sea cucumbers. They are elongated sea animals with a single, branching gonad and leathery skin. Sea cucumbers can be found all over the world on the ocean floor. There are around 1,717 holothurian species worldwide, with the Asia Pacific area having the most. Many are harvested for human consumption, while some are raised in aquaculture systems.

(Inputs from ANI)

Image: ANI