It's Not Cool to Overfish the Cucumbers!

The seas around India and Sri Lanka are subject to illegal sea cucumber fishing. These echinoderms are regarded as a culinary delicacy, as well as being a reputed aphrodisiac, in China (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/apr/12/sea-cucumbers-organised-crime-smuggling-aphrodisiac-biodiversity-sri-lanka-india). Sea cucumbers are important organisms in marine food webs, as they help to recycle the detritus on which they feed. These starfish/ sea urchin relatives, excrete nitrogen, ammonia and calcium carbonate. These materials are all important for the health of coral reefs in the oceans, where the cucumbers hang out. India actually bans the export of sea cucumbers but illegally taken examples from that country, are smuggled into Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has populations on its coast who make their legal living by diving for sea cucumbers. That living is, of course, imperilled by the activities of illegal fishers. Sea cucumbers are currently illegally taken in enormous numbers, as they can fetch £200/kg. Rare species can even bring £2500/kg. Human greed is, as usual, the cause of this environmental tragedy. And, no, sea cucumbers are not actually an aphrodisiac! It's an image thing.