海参走私已演变成一个价值2亿美元的国际黑市交易网络1。这种海洋生物因在中国及东南亚被视为美食和传统药物而遭大规模非法捕捞1，全球海参渔业中已有70%被过度开发1。作为重要的海洋生态调节者，海参的衰退正在引发全球关注。
印度安达曼和尼科巴群岛已建立全球最强的保护措施，自2001年起全面禁止捕捞海参1。该地区对非法捕捞海参的处罚等同于盗猎老虎或大象的刑期——7年监禁1。尽管如此，位于距离仅约50公里外的缅甸水域的走私者仍持续冒险1。印度当局在过去一年内逮捕了至少50名走私犯，这些犯人年龄从16岁到60多岁不等1。
专家指出，海参走私之所以猖獗，部分原因在于执法优先级不足。保护组织负责人Teale Phelps Bondaroff表示："执法人员可能在寻找毒品、武器或象牙、犀牛角、鲨鱼翅等已知野生动物走私品时，海参可能被忽视"1。要有效遏制这一犯罪，需要全球提升认知和加强国际执法合作1。
Sea cucumber smuggling has developed into a $200 million black market operation, with the creatures harvested illegally across Asia and trafficked internationally 1. These marine animals serve as critical ecosystem regulators, yet they face massive poaching pressure due to their status as a luxury food and traditional medicine ingredient in China and Southeast Asia 1.
India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands have implemented strong protections since imposing a complete ban on sea cucumber harvesting in 2001 1. The penalty for catching the species matches those for poaching tigers or elephants—up to seven years imprisonment 1. Despite these strict measures, smugglers operating from nearby Myanmar, which lies approximately 50 kilometers away, continue to target the region 1. Police in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands arrested at least 50 suspected smugglers over the past year, ranging in age from 16 to over 60 1. Globally, around 70 percent of sea cucumber fisheries have been overharvested 1.
Experts argue that enforcement efforts fall short due to the species' lower profile compared to other wildlife contraband. According to Teale Phelps Bondaroff, law enforcement officers "may overlook sea cucumbers while searching for drugs, weapons, or better-known smuggled wildlife like ivory, rhino horn, and shark fins" 1. International cooperation and heightened awareness are essential to combating this illicit trade, which has existed in some form for centuries—records of trade between Indonesian fishermen and Chinese merchants date back 800 years 1.
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