After the trafficking of rhino horns, tiger skins and elephant tusks, it is now the turn of illegal trade in threatened marine species, especially sea horses and sea cucumbers. The country’s coastal waters are fast becoming base for their easy poaching by international gangs who transport them to countries as Thailand through air carriers.
The sea horse and sea cucumber are protected under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. They are listed under Appendix I and II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), respectively.While sea horses are found in deep sea waters, sea cucumbers inhabit shallow waters.The sea cucumbers are said to be in great demand for use in soups in China; sea horses are used as ingredients in Chinese medicines.
According to sources in the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), under Environment Ministry, these endangered marine species are first poached by the local fishermen who are funded by larger groups. Henceforth, with the involvement of various international networks they are trafficked mostly through flights to China and South East Asia.“As flights between India and Thailand are very cheap, an individual is paid a certain sum to act as a courier to transport these species. It is easy for an individual to carry them as these creatures are very small in size and can easily be carried in a bundle in hand, without raising much suspicion,” said WCCB official.
Sources in the WCCB said an important lead in this regard was obtained after Nazeer Mohammad a Sri lankan national was nabbed at the Chennai airport on April 17 while boarding a flight to Kaula lumpur. He had revealed the modus operandi and said how he was paid to carry the bundle as a courier by an agent based abroad.WCCB sources claimed to be keeping a close watch over the situation adding that that the bureau is already in touch with coastal states in this regard. If required the details will also be shared with Interpol, the sources said.
Shekhar Niraj, head of TRAFFIC India (the wildlife trade monitoring network), regretted that poaching and illegal trade of sea cucumbers and horses has risen steeply because of a high demand in China and South-east Asia. The extent of poaching is such that these species have been wiped out in most stretches of coastal waters, such as like the Gulf of Kutch, Gulf of Mannar, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and lakshwadeep, where they had a good population earlier.“This is a dangerous trend for the country’s marine biodiversity,” some experts said. The sea cucumbers are scavenger species of the marine ecosystem that clean up water and allow corals to thrive, they explained.