LA PAZ, Mexico— Based on a new scientific analysis revealing alarming declines, the Center for Biological Diversity submitted an urgent petition today asking Mexican officials to protect the chocolate chip sea cucumber under the country’s endangered species law.

Today’s petition springs from an analysis showing a staggering 90% population decline in less than two decades, primarily due to illegal fishing and overexploitation.

“Time is running out for these quirky but important creatures. Mexico urgently needs to crack down on illegal fishing and promote habitat restoration to prevent the total collapse of this sea cucumber population,” said Alejandro Olivera, a senior scientist and Mexico representative at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Protecting chocolate chip sea cucumbers as a threatened species is a crucial step toward ensuring their survival.”

The chocolate chip sea cucumber, also known as the cookie dough sea cucumber, is found throughout the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean, including the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, and the coasts of Florida and Bermuda, extending south to Brazil. In Mexico their numbers have plummeted because of legal overfishing followed by massive illegal fishing after a ban on the fishery. The animal is dried and exported primarily to Asia where it is consumed for purported health purposes.

These sea cucumbers typically grow to about the size of a man’s foot and have leathery, bumpy skin adorned with dark brown speckles, resembling chocolate chips in cookie dough. The animals have a unique defense mechanism, expelling their insides to distract predators. They also play a vital role in marine ecosystems by filtering and recycling nutrients from the seabed.

The Center’s new scientific analysis reveals the alarming decline of the chocolate chip sea cucumber in the Yucatán Peninsula. In addition to historic legal fishing for the species, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing has devastated sea cucumber populations, exceeding official quotas by more than 66%.

Between 2011 and 2018, an estimated 9,708 tons of chocolate chip sea cucumbers were illegally caught, valued at $34 million. This rampant overfishing has reduced the species to a mere 10% of its original biomass, according to Mexican government assessments.

The Center's petition seeks immediate protection for the chocolate chip sea cucumber under Mexico's endangered species list. If successful, this listing would mandate population monitoring, management plans and stricter regulations to prevent further decline.

The restrictive policy of Mexico’s Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources, or Semarnat, of limiting proposals to protect imperiled species to specific time periods has caused significant delays in the past, with some petitioners waiting up to 10 years for their proposals to be considered. The Center urges Semarnat to take swift action in this case, given the urgent need to protect the dwindling sea cucumber population.