NOAA's Reporter's Coral Reef Tip Sheet
June 2, 1997 - Week 22

Just like fish, oil, natural gas, seaweed and other ocean products, coral is a commodity traded on the international market. The demand which drives this trade comes primarily from aquarium hobbyists, who use live and dead (dried and bleached) coral as habitat in their aquariums, and beach-side curio shops which sell pieces of dead coral as home decorations or jewelry. A recent study of the international trade in corals, conducted by TRAFFIC USA, found that Indonesia currently supplies 95% of the world's coral trade, while the United States imports 85% of the dead coral and 98% of the live coral in the international trade.

Although corals grow slowly and face many threats such as sedimentation, pollution, poison and blast fishing, anchor damage, and ship groundings, it should be possible to harvest coral on a sustainable basis. However, an unregulated international market can create strong incentives to harvest living natural resources at unsustainably high levels. In order to counteract these market forces, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was created.

CITES entered into force in 1975, and the treaty now has 136 Party countries (countries which have signed and ratified the treaty). In order for a species of wild plant or animal to be listed under CITES, it must first be demonstrated that the international trade in that species is contributing to its decline. Depending upon the level of threat which the international trade in a plant or animal imposes on the health of that particular species, CITES either bans the trade of the species, or allows sustainable trade under permit. There is no international trade allowed for those species listed in Appendix I of CITES. In order to trade species listed in Appendix II of CITES, the exporting country must provide documentation. A country may list species which are within its own jurisdiction on Appendix III, in effect requesting the cooperation of other member countries to prevent or restrict the exploitation of that species.

Black corals (Order Antipatharia), blue corals (Order Coenothecalia), stony corals (Order Scleractinia), fire corals (Milleporidae spp., Stylasteridae spp.), and organ-pipe corals (Tubiporidae spp.) are all listed in Appendix II of CITES. A permit from the country of origin is required in order to trade these corals on the international market.

Although trade in coral is restricted under CITES, the reporting protocol for coral species is not standardized. It is therefore difficult to monitor the size of the trade and the impacts that the international trade in coral has on the coral reef ecosystems in the exporting countries. In order to better document the effects of international trade in coral products on coral reef ecosystems, the United States has developed a resolution which would standardize the reporting of the international coral trade. This resolution will be discussed at the Tenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to CITES which will be convened 9-20 June 1997 in Harare, Zimbabwe.

Upcoming Event

The Tenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP10) to CITES takes place this June 9-20 in Harare, Zimbabwe. If you can't travel that far, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service is providing Internet coverage of the conference. Visit www.fws.gov/~r9dia/index.html for an electronic forum which will provide a wide audience with an inside look at the conservation work of COP10.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF THE REEF PLEASE CONTACT:

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT CITES OR THE INTERNATIONAL CORAL TRADE PLEASE CONTACT: