Fishermen seek permission to catch Sea Cucumbers

Ramanathapuram, Feb 22 (UNI) Members of the National Fish Workers will observe an indefinite fast from March 10, demanding permission to catch Sea Cucumbers, classified as endangered species.

Talking to newspersons here yesterday, the Forum's National Executive Committee Member Thomas Kocherry said while there was no ban on catching Sea Cucumbers in Lakshadweep island, the authorities were taking action against the fishermen netting Sea Cucumbers in Tamil Nadu.

Pointing out that there was no ban on catching the species in foreign countries, he urged the Indian government to lift the ban immediately on catching three varieties of Sea Cucumbers namely Holuthuria Scabra, Holothuria and Holothuria Atra.

Dismissing the fears about the extinction of Sea Cucumbers in case of mass catching, he said these species rear a large number of eggs at a time than other varieties of marine species.

Moreover, Sea Cucumbers could not be caught in fishing nets in mass numbers instead they could be collected through hands by diving into the sea.

He said if the Centre did not lift the ban on catching Sea Cucumbers before the first week of March, the members of the Forum would resort to indefinite fast in front of the Ramanathapuram Wildlife Office from March 10.

UNI GSM LPB GC0852