Twelve (12) persons held for illegal harvesting of sea cucumber

The Navy apprehended 12 persons who were illegally harvesting sea cucumber in seas off Waleikadu, Mannar on 07^th February 2020.

The Navy has been conducting operations to preserve the fishery resources in territorial waters of the island. As an extension to this, the Navy conducted a similar operation in seas off Waleikadu, at night on 07th February and managed to apprehend 12 suspects who engaged in underwater diving to harvest sea cucumber. Along with the suspects 17 illegally caught sea cucumbers, 04 dinghies and several diving gear were taken into naval custody.

The accused have been identified as residents of Mannar area, from 24 to 50 years of age. The 12 suspects together with seized items were handed over to the Assistant Director of Fisheries of Kilinochchi for onward investigation.