RAPAPORT... There is general consensus that reef coral is in crisis, suffering from overfishing that stems from high consumer demand, oil and gas exploration, invasive species, as well as pollution and climate change, according to SeaWeb, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ocean conservation. Precious coral commonly used in jewelry — red and pink corallium — which does not form reefs and grows so deep it is less affected by rising ocean temperatures, is also threatened. But it does not currently have the same international protection as reef coral, blue coral and black coral. For red and pink corallium, the threat is from bottom trawlers, who accidentally break off deep-sea coral during shrimp fishing, and from ocean acidification caused by rising levels of carbon monoxide. Harvesting of precious coral for use in jewelry has decreased in recent years, which may mean the supply has been reduced by overharvesting.All coral are vital for a healthy ocean.
Reef, blue and black coral already are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), an international treaty ratified by 175 nations. Similar protection may soon be extended to red and pink corallium. The U.S. and European Union (EU) are sponsoring a proposal to add precious coral to Appendix II of CITES regulations at the convention’s next conference in March 2010. Inclusion in Appendix II would mean trade in precious coral will require a permit.
“CITES Appendix II does not prohibit trade, it regulates it and creates import/export controls so it can be tracked,” explained Christine Dawson, senior negotiator and biodiversity division chief of the Office of Ecology and Natural Resource Conservation of the U.S. State Department.
The coral crisis was the topic of a two-day conference entitled “Coral: Symbol, Substance and Significance,” organized by Initiatives in Art & Culture and held October 30 and 31 in New York. Speakers, from jewelry retailers and designers to marine biologists, addressed the role of coral in nature and culture. “Coral reefs are one-tenth of 1 percent of the ocean floor and they are the habitat for 25 percent of all marine species. They are incredibly valuable and they are in deep trouble,” said Kacky Andrews, program manager of the Coral Reef Conservation Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Committee.
But coral reefs are not the only cause for concern. “Deep-sea corals such as corallium are an important part of the ocean ecosystem,” says Stephen Cairns, research scientist and curator at the Smithsonian Institution. “Ocean life depends on them for protection from predators and as gathering places for mating. If any coral species deserves to be protected, it is corallium, which is traded more heavily and is extremely vulnerable to overfishing pressure.”
Save CoralPublic awareness of the issue is rising, due in part to a publicity campaign by SeaWeb that aims to encourage coral protection by convincing the public that it is “Too Precious to Wear.”
In addition to its support for adding precious coral to CITES Appendix II, SeaWeb is asking designers and consumers not to buy coral. Tiffany & Co. stopped selling coral in 2002. “We actively support SeaWeb’s ‘Too Precious To Wear’ campaign to preserve coral reefs and are seeking to raise consumer awareness of this issue and to urge fellow jewelers to join us in refusing to sell coral jewelry,” said Michael Kowalski, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Tiffany & Co. “Why would we want to sell something that could have a negative impact on marine health when there is so little economic benefit?”
If SeaWeb succeeds in its efforts, the impact will be greatest in the world’s coral-producing centers. “The coral trade is concentrated in three major corallium industries: Taiwan, Torre del Greco and Japan,” said Susan Torntore, faculty member of the University of Idaho College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, who has studied coral production.
Fifth-generation jeweler Amedeo Scognamiglio, who grew up in Torre del Greco, the town south of Naples that is the leading center for coral carving, argued that the traditions of coral craftsmanship also are worth protecting. “Tiffany’s business is engagement rings, diamonds, gold and silver. It’s easy for them to give up coral,” he said. “We don’t sell reef coral, we sell corallium from very deep in the ocean. Corallium is not endangered. We must defend people’s lives and the world’s artistic heritage first, before exterminating an entire artistic tradition for the purpose of a PR campaign.”
Italy regulates coral harvesting through licensing and season closures. In addition, dredging equipment is banned in the Mediterranean. “None of our partners wishes to see the disappearance of the precious coral trade,” said Dawn Martin, president and chair of the board of SeaWeb. “But if it continues business as usual, with no international oversight, there won’t be any industry because the resource will be gone.”
Black CoralBlack coral, the state gem of Hawaii, is already covered by CITES. According to Santi Roberts, marine scientist for Oceana, an environmental advocacy organization, black coral is very slow growing and long-lived. One colony found off Hawaii is 2,300 years old.
Maui Divers, Hawaii’s largest jewelry manufacturer and retailer with 58 stores, is also the world’s largest manufacturer of black coral jewelry, which accounts for 10 percent of the company’s sales. “Sustainability of coral has always been our number one priority,” said Robert Taylor, Maui Divers president and CEO. “We work with the government to manage the resource. The state and federal government set a quota of 5,000 kilos — 5 tons — every two years and the harvest is well below that now. The coral must be four feet high and one inch in diameter to be harvested and the areas are rotated.”
Scientists and jewelers alike point to Hawaii as a model of how red and pink coral might be regulated internationally. But even speakers at the conference who support adding precious coral to CITES’s Appendix II did not agree whether regulation is enough.
“The intrinsic value of coral is in the ecosystem it creates. In the face of so many threats, can we afford to let corals be used for anything but creation of underwater ecosystems?” says Andrew Baker, assistant professor of marine biology and fisheries at the University of Miami. Maui Divers’ Taylor disagreed: “As far as we’re concerned, it’s too precious not to wear.”
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - December 2009. To subscribe click here.