Five held over 16,000 illegally fished sea urchins

[Handout/Hellenic Coast Guard]

Five radical were arrested Monday successful bluish Greece for illegally sportfishing much than 16,000 oversea urchins that are important members of marine ecosystems but besides a traditional Lenten delicacy, authorities said. 

A Coast Guard statement said a total 820 kilos of the spiny rock-dwelling creatures were seized successful the larboard of Alexandroupoli pursuing a tip-off, and were rapidly dumped backmost into the water. It was the 2nd such incidental successful little than a week.

The oversea urchins were destined for merchantability to seafood restaurants, galore of which still service protected marine creatures such arsenic the noble pinna oregon day mussel molluscs. While oversea urchins are not protected, there are strict limitations connected drawback sizes and sportfishing seasons.

The Coast Guard said the suspects aged 22-40, who lacked sportfishing permits, faced prosecution for breaches of sportfishing and biology extortion laws, arsenic well arsenic fines. The oversea urchins were recovered successful 25 ample sacks successful a trailer towed by a vehicle successful the port. Many were beneath the minimum size permitted to beryllium caught.

Greek instrumentality lone allows the postulation of oversea urchins by licensed fishers during daylight hours successful January, February, March, July, August and December. An amateur licence allows the sportfishing of up to 30 urchins per time for strictly idiosyncratic use and a nonrecreational licence up to 600.

The creatures play a cardinal relation successful keeping seas cleanable by eating algae, frankincense preventing their overgrowth, and service arsenic a nutrient source for different forms of marine life.