Intro4u2u

Thousands of sea cucumbers have been appearing along the eastern coast of Peninsular Malaysia in Terengganu state, local newspaper reported today.

Since Wednesday afternoon, hundreds of locals have been collecting sea cucumbers at the Batu Buruk tourist beach, reported the New Straits Times (NST), an English daily.

Sea cucumbers are not local species, said head of the Turtle and Marine Ecosystem Center, Kamaruddin Ibrahim, who was at the beach collecting samples, adding he advised people not to eat them.

Another fisheries science expert Sakri Ibrahim noted, it is a new phenomenon for sea cucumbers to surface near the shore.

“Sea cucumbers are generally scavengers feeding on debris of plankton and other organic matters found on the seabed. They are usually found near rocky surroundings, such as among the coral at Pulau Kapas and Pulau Redang in Terengganu,” he was quoted as saying by the NST.

The only possible explanation for finding them in Batu Buruk is that they could have been transported by strong undercurrents, said Sakri.

He said the strong undercurrents could be the result of a tectonic plate movement or could be due to long waves created by strong winds.