Sea Cucumbers: Countering the Illegal Trade

In February 2020, government officials in the Lakshadweep islands notified the creation of three marine protected areas (MPAs) covering 645 sq km. Among them is said to be the world’s first area earmarked for sea cucumbers — the Dr KK Mohammed Koya Sea Cucumber Conservation Reserve, a 239-sq-km area of the Chereapani (Cheriyapani/Byramgore) lagoon and reef.

Sea cucumbers are listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, giving them the same level of protection as tigers and making poaching them illegal. However, the Hindustan Times highlights rampant illegal sea cucumber harvesting in the Lakshadweep islands. In January 2020, officials seized 219 sea cucumbers weighing 234 kg and worth Rs 1.17 crore, and in February 2020 The Hindu reported on what the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau called the largest global seizure of the creatures: 1,716 sea cucumbers worth Rs 42.6 million.

Following the announcement of the conservation area, Damodhar AT, secretary, (environment and forest), and chief wildlife warden, Lakshadweep, told the Hindustan Times, “The recent large scale detection and largest global sea cucumber offences led to the instant declaration of these reserves and also the reason for convincing the local community about the importance of marine biodiversity conservation. For some short-term monetary gains by way of exporting sea cucumbers, a complete destruction of our ecosystem was underway. Now, this is set to change.”

Protected Areas – Lakshadweep

The other two protected areas notified were the Attakoya Thangal Marine Conservation Reserve, Pitti (344 sq km) and the PM Sayeed Marine Birds Conservation Reserve, Valiyapani (62 sq km). All three MPAs consist of lagoons and coral formations that provide habitats and breeding grounds for numerous species.

The creation of these areas is the result of a collaborative effort by officials, researchers and locals to protect Lakshadweep’s natural riches. One of those people is Deepak Apte, former director, Bombay Natural History Society. Apte and others have spent over a decade laying the groundwork for community-based MPAs that protect the environment and fishermen’s livelihoods.

Speaking about the sea cucumber area, Apte said, “I think that it is good to have a reserve for sea cucumbers… it’s a way to send a message to people, in Lakshadweep and beyond, that cucumbers are important from an ecological point of view.” 

What are sea cucumbers and why are they important?

Sea cucumbers are marine invertebrates of the phylum Echinodermata. These animals are squishy and slimy, and resemble cucumbers in their shape; they can grow from a few millimetres to over a metre, according to P S Asha, principal scientist at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI), Tuticorin Research Station. Some are ridged and brown, others are orange and covered in spiky formations; some are so brightly coloured that they are used as ornamentation in aquariums, Asha said.

There are about 1,700 species of sea cucumbers found in shallow and deep waters worldwide. Earlier studies in India stated that there are approximately 200 species. Sea cucumbers are found in the Gulf of Mannar, Palk Bay, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar, the Gulf of Kutch and also along the mainland coast of India in stray numbers, according to a 2017 research document from CMFRI. Their habitats include rocky coasts, ocean floors, and coral reefs; some are found in salt marshes and mangroves.

These creatures have neither eyes nor brains. Their bodies are long tubes with a mouth surrounded by nerves and feeding tentacles, an anus, and organs in the middle. But don’t let that fool you. Sea cucumbers are unusual animals. As described in “The Bizarre and Disturbing Life of Sea Cucumbers” published on the Nature blog, sea cucumbers have been found to breathe through their backsides, by sucking water into their bodies and using structures called respiratory trees to extract oxygen; Asha pointed out that they also breathe through their skin. The Nature blog further noted that sea cucumbers allow some organisms, such as pearlfish, to live in their anal cavities, and also expel filament-like organs through their anus when threatened.

They are also an important cog in the ocean’s functioning. Thanks to what they eat, digest, and excrete, sea cucumbers help recycle nutrients and carbonates, improve the health of coral reefs and seagrass meadows, and affect the pH balance of the water around them.

Some sea cucumbers feed on tiny organic particles floating in water — like plankton and waste matter — and break these down, providing nutrition for smaller creatures and improving water quality. Others look for sustenance in the sand and debris around them, taking in mouthfuls, extracting nourishment, and then pooping out largely “clean” sand. Thus sea cucumbers prevent the build-up of excessive organic matter on seafloors, sometimes preventing unruly algae blooms from cropping up. These blooms use up oxygen in the water, depriving other marine flora and fauna, according to a National Geographic article called “Sea Cucumbers Are the Ocean’s Vacuum Cleaners”.

Additionally, by-products of sea cucumber droppings include calcium carbonate that assist coral formation, and ammonia waste that fertilizes the surrounding area.

What threats do sea cucumbers face?

Sea cucumbers are prized as food items and medicinal sources in many Asian countries including China, Japan, and South Korea. Certain species are dried, boiled, and processed into a product popularly known as bêche-de-mer. According to the CMFRI document mentioned earlier, some consume the body in raw or pickled form. The creature is said to be high in protein and certain vitamins and low in fat. Sea cucumbers are also used in traditional Chinese medicine.

The high demand and commercial value in these countries has led to extensive harvesting, depleting sea cucumber populations around the world. According to a January 2020 Hindustan Times report, a kilo of sea cucumbers can fetch about Rs 50,000 and some fishermen could earn Rs 2 lakh in a single day.

 Though such trading is legal elsewhere, it is illegal in India. Sea cucumber harvesting was initially centred around Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar. In 1982, to avoid overfishing, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change introduced a size regulation on the export of this creature. However, this proved ineffective, and in 2001, all sea cucumbers species were listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, ending their trade. 

Despite the blanket ban, harvesting of 15-16 commercially viable species continues in Indian waters. Wildlife Institute of India scientist and professor K Sivakumar has studied the illegal trade of protected marine species and explained the trading practices along the east coast. He noted that many animals, including sea cucumbers, were poached around Tamil Nadu and brought to areas near Rameswaram. “They are then sent, either to Sri Lanka or to different parts of our country and from there to Nepal, and onwards to Europe and China,” Sivakumar said. Catch from Lakshadweep is sometimes routed via the Maldives, he explained.

C Raghunathan, a scientist with the Zoological Survey of India, said that since sea cucumbers are only protected in India and not in neighbouring countries, “fishermen can easily move the animals via sea route from one place to another.” According to him a common route to get the goods to Asian markets is via Myanmar.

Rohan Arthur, a scientist with the Nature Conservation Foundation suggested that Lakshadweep’s sea cucumber trade has grown recently, on the back of “uncontrolled and unregulated” commercial reef fisheries. “The same collector boats that transport reef fish are now being used to transport other illegal wildlife products from the reef,” he said. Local Forest Department officials have stepped up efforts to check the poaching — in addition to the conservation reserve there is also a Sea Cucumber Protection Task Force (SCPTF) team. Whether these measures prove to be effective or not remains to be seen.