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Corralling Coral

At least six different kinds of jewelry coral (corallium) will be added to the ever-growing CITES list of endangered species in March 2010 when this maritime flora and fauna watchdog group--composed of representatives from 178 nations--meets. Does coral need restricted harvesting and trade? Or is this going overboard?

By David Federman, Editor-in-Chief

This early 17th century bronze statue of Greek mythological figure Daphne crowned with a coral branch is on display in the Dresden Green Vaults.

You've heard of "dirty gold." But have you heard of "Too Precious to Wear"? That's a campaign against the harvesting of and trade in coral for jewelry use started by SeaWeb.com which has helped to strike fear in the hearts of wildlife watchers all around the world.

Is the fear justified? Scientists who have studied coral think so. In early October the E.U. joined the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to call for addition of jewelry coral (corallium) to the ever-expanding international endangered species list.

This list is compiled by CITES, short for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, which is a treaty-status agreement drafted in 1973 and since signed by 178 countries. At present, CITES monitors some 5,000 animal and 25,000 plant species. When any of these species is deemed threatened (and this requires extensive scientific research and polling), it can be put on any of three endangered species lists called Appendices:

• Species that make the A-list, Appendix One, are so threatened they are usually banned wholly or partially from trade. Conchs have been nominated for Appendix One status (they're still at the Appendix Two level).
• Species with provably troubled, uncertain futures like jewelry coral are nominated for Appendix Two listing, which means producer nations will have to agree to restricted harvests and consumer nations will have to agree to restricted trade.
• Last, countries can unilaterally declare species endangered and put them on the Appendix Three list--without seeking consensus from other signer nations. China recently did so with the jewelry coral grown in Taiwan. Was this move ecologically or economically motivated? We'll answer that question in another story. Let's get back to Appendix Two coral.

What's In and What's Out?

There are at least 30 jewelry corals in use today. Six of them (one from the Mediterranean off Italy and five from the Pacific off Taiwan and Japan) comprise the bulk of trade--and it is these deep-sea varieties (pinks and reds) that CITES will most likely give Appendix Two status. Certainly, a case can be made for protection of these breeds.

But under the guise of “sustainability,” coral may have become the object of needless fear-mongering.

Some scientists and anthropologists think coral producers have valid grounds for worrying about and objecting to possibly draconian harvesting and trade restrictions. Besides threats to centuries-old industries and widely practiced livelihoods, coral curtailment could--and most likely will--result in unfair competition by users of other unrestricted corals that can be dyed to look like natural coral and sold as untreated. Undisclosed dyed bamboo coral is currently one such prominent pretender. Stabilized sponge coral is another.

Hence producers will protest any attempt to restrict trade in coral that is not accompanied by meaningful implementation rules. It is just such protests that kept coral from being regulated in 2007. Have things changed enough to make the implementation issue any less relevant?

We have our doubts. And they are based mostly on the lack of a comprehensive, widely promulgated color and species classification system for coral, as well as universally recognized and easily practiced species identification and treatment detection methods. Without these, we fail to see how people in the chain of rule enforcement--from Customs agents through importers and users to retailers--will be able to police coral. Gemological testing is a prerequisite for the workability of regulations.

Don't get us wrong. We think there is just cause for coral protection. But such strikes us as impossible without a rubric of coral identification and testing procedures. Otherwise there is no way to stop unfair competition from sellers of unrestricted breeds of coral which have been dyed and/or stabilized. Harvesters of affected species want and are entitled to more assurances of fair commerce.

The Need for Coral Forums

Given the importance of coral in jewelry for the past few millennia, and its current popularity, it is somewhat astounding to realize that there have been no public multi-disciplinary events where all interested parties in the coral debate can meet and reach the beginnings of a consensus on coral conservation and preservation.

That will change on October 30th when a group called Initiatives in Art and Culture convenes a much-needed coral summit bringing together jewelers, designers, producers, scientists, historians and activists. Rather than summarize the conference agenda, let us simply reprint the event précis prepared by its organizers--adding only that we will be in attendance, and that readers qualify for a fee reduction from $250 to $195 if they register by October 23rd.

For conference details and registration information, click here.

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