A 120-day emergency ban on the picking, obtaining and selling of any species of sea cucumbers found within Hawaii's aquatic area was passed by The State Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday, June 26.

The implementation of the recent injunction is in line with the investigation amid reports that the aquatic creatures are being harvested and marketed in large quantities due to their medicinal properties, according to CTV News.

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The investigation is expected to initiate long term regulatory guidelines regarding sea cucumber gathering to ensure its sustainability.

Prized for its medicinal properties such as in the treatment of joint disease and cancer, sea cucumbers are feared by Hawaii Aquatic Resource officials to be facing "imminent peril." This is due to a recent discovery that approximately 3,000 to 4,000 of its kind are being picked off Oahu and Maui for export business that usually benefits the Asian market, where it is sold as either food or medicine after they are processed and dried, Hawaii News Now reported.

Around 17 individuals are reportedly being paid about $5 for every sea cucumber they harvest, with each person gathering approximately 200 a day that makes a total of almost $1,000 in a day, according to state documents submitted for the proposed rules.

Sea cucumbers play a crucial role in the marine ecosystem. The said creatures are often referred to as "vacuums of the sea" or "recyclers of the reef" since they clean up the seabed by recycling nutrients, breaking down debris and different kinds of organic matter spewing clean sand afterwards.

Some examples of Hawaii's precious sea cucumbers are the Bohadschia species, Stichopus species and the Chiridota species, as per Hawaiifishes.com.

The harvesting of these tube-shaped invertebrates in too many quantities frequently could affect their ability to reproduce and ultimately cause depletion.

Once depleted, it could take decades for these echinoderms to be restored back, according to the research cited in the ban's proposal. And in order to maintain balance in the islands' marine ecosystem, officials are securing their long term viability by ensuring that the aquatic organisms are properly regulated.

Under the emergency ban, those individuals caught violating the restriction could face sanctions such as criminal fines and even imprisonment.

Tagssea cucumbers, Aquatic life, Science