Rare marine species smuggled out of Chennai port

CHENNAI: Smuggling of rare marine species like sea cucumber, sea horse and piped fish is on the rise and smugglers are using the Chennai port to smuggle these animals out to South East Asia, K Venkatraman, director, Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) said on Tuesday.Venkatraman said sea cucumbers, also known as bioturbators and similar to earthworms on land, are being smuggled along with sea horses and piped fish through the ports of Chennai and Vishakapatnam to Singapore. Interestingly, the ZSI is conducting a sample trawling study for Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Mannar Reserve Trust, which is funded by  United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).S Balaji, chief conservator of forests and Trust director  told Express that the study was conducted after calls from the fishing community to lift the ban on fishing sea cucumber, which comes under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act. The ZSI has already submitted its initial findings and a second report is expected to be submitted next month, he said.Venkatraman said the Departments of revenue, intelligence and wildlife crime trust in Ramanathpuram are working on containing the smuggling of sea cucumbers. He said the sea cucumbers are clandestinely collected by   fishermen who later mix the consignment with chillies and then smuggle it out of the country. He said that 12 banned varieties of sharks, are also smuggled abroad.He said that there is a steady increase in marine protected areas in India.