Illegal sea cucumber crime and fishing are considered a significant danger to marine ecosystems worldwide.
In a new chapter of “The World of Sea Cucumbers,” Phelps Bondaroff and Felix Morrow explore the effects of this illegal harvesting on marine ecosystems around the globe.
The team noted that not enough attention is focused on these smaller creatures, which are ultimately a cornerstone of the marine ecosystem. While shark finning and other bigger causes get a lot of attention, these smaller creatures need more attention since they play a crucial role in the whole ecosystem.
Bondaroff told the Martlet newspaper:
“The oceans have traditionally been neglected from a conservation perspective. Marine wildlife crime and illegal fishing is too often treated as an administrative issue whereas the same thing on land would be a criminal issue…We depend on our oceans to survive. Whether it’s for food or ecosystem services, oceans are critically important to our survival as a species and if we don’t protect them, we’ll die. The important thing would be to step up and take action in some area. That … to me, involves taking bigger issues and breaking them down into bite-sized chunks. You and your three friends could affect change on a global scale. [You] could work to protect a specific bay or move forward on a piece of legislation that will protect migratory birds. You can have that influence.”
