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July 2005
Feature Story
Ocean Futures Society
by Jean-Michel Cousteau
The “must have” fashion item of the
season—coral jewelry—should be tagged
“buyer beware” because it may have
serious ramifications for some of the
ocean’s most embattled species.
From upper echelon retailers like Neiman
Marcus to discounters and even online,
fashion marketers have targeted coral as
a stylish adornment that conveys status
and exotic allure. In truth, despite their
appearance as a mineral or a leafy plant,
corals are animals that are being rapidly
depleted worldwide. Feeding the fashion
industry’s increased demand will have a
greater impact on coral colonies,
especially those that are not capably
managed.
“Collecting corals for the jewelry trade is
dangerous to ocean reefs,” says Dr.
James Porter, Meigs Professor of Ecology
at the University of Georgia and an advisor for the U.S. EPA Coral Reef Monitoring Project. “Many deep
water coral reefs around the world are permanently altered due to over-harvesting.”
Black, pink, red and gold corals—those most sought after by the jewelry trade—are being over-collected,
decimating some deep reef environments. More than 70 tons of red coral are taken from the Mediterranean
Sea alone each year, and it has been virtually eliminated from the coasts. Many coral colonies in the
Caribbean have also been wiped out.
Dr. Richard Grigg, professor of oceanography at the University of Hawaii and an expert in black coral, says
corals in the seas off Taiwan and Japan are particularly threatened.
Deep corals are slow growing, many as little as one-quarter inch per year. Scientists have found it nearly
impossible to determine the age of some of the largest remaining colonies. Already under siege from global
warming, coastal run-offs and pollution that contribute to coral bleaching in more shallow water, precious
corals face an even greater risk today due to non-selective and destructive technologies like bottom
trawling and dredging that clear-cut reefs, leaving them wastelands.
How could this continue to happen in a
world where the depletion of a species
would be expected to gain international
media attention and concern? The
answer may lie in the very appearance of
coral. While beautiful and intricate, corals
do not have cute faces, pleading eyes or
bleed from their wounds. They aren’t
elephants with majestic tusks, baby harp
seals, or sleek big cats. Humans find it
much more difficult to relate
empathically to an animal that looks
more like a rock or plant. With public
interest limited mostly to research
scientists and some non-governmental
organizations, the run on coral has
continued with mixed success at
regulation.
The use of coral by humans goes back
through the ages as far as 20,000 B.C.
Wall paintings and vases depict coral
jewelry used by the Romans, Greeks,
and Egyptians. The mysticism and myths
about the power of coral has bridged cultures, religions and epochs. Black coral was once thought to have
the power to cure disease. Like rhinoceros horn, it is falsely deemed an aphrodisiac in some parts of the
world. Pink coral was coveted by the ancients for protecting newborn children. The Christian religion
adopted the red coral color as a symbol of Christ’s sacrifice. Various legends claim coral wards off witches
and evil spirits, protects crops, and defends ships against lightening.
These magical tales of curative or seductive powers have made coral enormously valuable throughout
history. As early as the 17th Century, merchants in Europe and India traded red coral for diamonds and
amber. Coral was a coveted jewelry prize long before its fellow ocean resident—the pearl.
Precious and semi-precious corals have been a significant commodity for trade and have historical, cultural,
artistic and economic implication for nations like Indonesia, the Philippines, and even the U.S. The problem,
according to Dr. Gregor Hodgson of Reef Check, is we don’t know how much coral can be harvested in many
of these vast areas before the negative impact becomes a serious and perhaps irreversible situation.
The problem is complicated by the different
habitats and biological characteristics of the
dozens of species involved. For example, the
semi-precious blue coral is not really a coral
at all, but it is found on coral reefs in shallow
water. By contrast, the precious red coral is a
kind of sea fan that lives at depths of one
thousand feet or more – well below the limits
of scuba diving tourists. The most valuable
precious corals have the slowest growth rates
– less than ½ inch per year. In a perfect
world, we would study the size of the
populations and regulate collection to a
sustainable level. However, fisheries
management has proven difficult in the U.S.,
let alone in countries with a low capacity and
few resources.
With value comes greed. Greed causes
exploitation of natural resources. What
solutions can we offer curb our international
appetite of coral consumption?
First, we need to make the public aware that
the coral jewelry they buy comes at an
environmental cost. It shouldn’t be
fashionable to pillage coral populations where
precious coral harvesting isn’t properly
managed. In Hawaii, for example, harvesting
of black and other corals are restricted by
federal and state authorities to three percent
per year. Other coral populations are not as
well protected. Conservation must be a
priority and we should communicate the
threat of coral’s survival worldwide. We need
to emphasize that it is more “chic” to care
about marine conservation.
Until more is known about coral populations
and management options, consumers should
carefully consider purchases of coral products
including coral jewelry, coral sculptures, and
coral calcium diet supplements. Knowledge is
the first step toward an informed choice and a
market-driven statement in favor of the
ocean. More scientific studies must also be
done to truly understand the biological and
economic trade-offs we face in the coral trade. As my father said, “You cannot protect what you do not
understand.”
Some important progress is being made. Dredging for coral is now banned in the Mediterranean. The
Western Pacific Fishery Management Council recently required fishermen and divers to limit their harvest of
black coral to specimens that are about 20 years old, because of signs the younger populations of these
corals were seriously declining. Unfortunately, a five-year ban had been proposed, but was rejected by the
council. The Hawaiian sales of black coral, the state’s “gemstone,” is estimated at nearly $30 million a year,
a strong incentive to ignore sound scientific advice.
Corals are striking living features of our ocean. In their habitat, they are dazzling and colorful animals that
are an integral part of the ecosystem. They create a thriving “city under the sea.” They are worth more
alive than dead. Marketers have created a demand for corals to satisfy our human vanity. Their intrinsic
value is not as objects of adornment but rather as life forms worthy of our protection. We should choose to
care, and decide not to wear.
