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THE HAGUE—Delegates
attending the 14th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) today
approved a proposal offered by the United States to list red and pink
corals on Appendix II of the Convention.
Will Travers, Chairman of the Species
Survival Network, today congratulated the United States delegation for
its leadership on the coral issue. However, the rumor in the
halls of the Meeting is that corals may be brought up for
reconsideration when the plenary session convenes in the coming days.
“CITES Parties often get but one chance to make a difference
in the very survival of a species—it would embarrassing for
the Parties to now reverse course on this crucial matter,”
Travers noted.
Precious corals are particularly
popular in America, Europe and Asia as jewelry and art objects, but
increasing global demand is rapidly exhausting this slow-maturing ocean
resource. “In the Pacific Ocean, international trade is
causing serious depletion of the species as new coral areas are
discovered and are rapidly destroyed,” said Linda Paul of
Earthtrust, a member of the Species Survival Network.
Collection methods for the
deeper-dwelling species destroy entire colonies and their associated
vital fish habitat. It may take as long as 100 years for them to
recover. Over 26 million pieces of red and pink coral jewelry and art
objects were imported into the US from 2001 to 2006. Precious corals
have been used since the Stone Age, but destructive harvesting methods
and the booming global demand threaten the very survival of red and
pink coral reefs throughout their range.
“CITES has taken a big step
towards protecting red and pink corals,” said David
Cottingham of the US Delegation. “These measures would allow
limited trade of jewelry from coral that is harvested in a sustainable
manner and, if properly enforced, ensure that international trade in
corals is undertaken responsibly.”
EDITORS NOTES
• Distribution:
26 species found throughout the world in tropical, subtropical and
temperate oceans; only known populations large enough to support
commercial harvest are found north of 19º N latitude,
including seven species collected in the Western Pacific and one
collected in the Mediterranean.
• Population:
global harvest statistics from 1950 to 2001 indicate a rapid decline in
abundance of Mediterranean and Pacific species corresponding with the
discovery, inception of commercial fishing, increase in landings,
overexploitation, and, ultimately, exhaustion of the resource; most
western Pacific populations have been depleted within 4–5
years of their discovery; throughout the Mediterranean, C.
rubrum populations have shown a dramatic decrease in their
size, age structure and reproductive output over the last 20 years,
with the only remaining commercially valuable beds are now found along
the African coasts from Morocco to Tunisia, in the Bonifacio Strait off
western Sardinia and along the Spanish coasts
• Threats:
primary threat is over-harvesting for the international trade in
precious corals; secondary human impacts include pollution,
sedimentation, tourism and recreational diving (Mediterranean), and
incidental take and habitat degradation associated with longline
fishing and bottom trawling (Western Pacific)
• Trade:
millions of items and thousands of kilograms per year are traded
internationally as jewelry and in other forms; international demand
drives serial depletions as new stocks are discovered and rapidly
exhausted.
These are the most valuable genus of
precious coral and is highly valued for jewelry and art objects;
superior beads fetch prices of up to US$50 per gram and necklaces cost
up to US$25,000.
• There are no international
trade control or management measures for the genus Corallium.”
For more information contact:
Adam
M. Roberts, Press
Officer,
In The Hague: 06-5213 6798
Globally: 1-202-445-3572
E-mail: press@ssn.org
WORLD FORUM CONVENTION CENTRE
10, Churchillplein NL-2508 THE HAGUE
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