Experts rue marine poaching in Tamil Nadu coast

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Link: http://www.ndtv.com/environment/WILDLIFE.asp?id=101266 & callid=1

 

Experts rue marine poaching in TN coast

 

Sam Daniel

 

Thursday, February 22, 2007 (Chennai):

 

The indiscriminate poaching of marine life in the Gulf of Mannar is

threatening the very survival of many endangered species.

 

In a recent swoop, sea cucumbers, starfish and other species, worth

Rs 35 lakh in the international market, were confiscated from people

attempting to smuggle the consignment from a Tamil Nadu coast to Sri

Lanka.

 

Following a tip off the police intercepted a boat and a hunt is on

for the kingpin.

 

" We have information that these people have been involved in many

activities threatening the country's security. We've intensified our

investigation, " said John Nicholson, SP, Tuticorin.

 

These banned species have a great demand in Southeast Asian

countries for their medicinal and culinary value.

 

With the price of prawns dwindling, catching endangered species has

turned out to be a lucrative option for fishermen. A kilo of these

fetches around Rs 1000-7000.

 

Environmentalists are worried about the repercussions of this

unchecked poaching.

 

" This will result in lower oxygenation of the sea floor and in

reduction in population of fish, " said Dr P Palanikumar,

environmentalist.

 

The Gulf of Mannar National Marine Mark is being plundered the way

tigers were poached from Sariska.

 

The worry now is that this park too may become empty like Sariska

unless something concrete is done to check poaching of marine life.