CITES Support For Coral

In an effort to augment conservation initiatives for Red, pink and other coral species in the genus Corallium, delegates attending a meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES ) at The Hague have adopted a US proposal to list the genus in Appendix II of the convention. Appendix II allows trade in a species under strict conditions. Red and pink corals are found throughout the world’s tropical and temperate seas and are used mainly for the manufacture of jewellery. Corallium populations off parts of the Italian, French and Spanish coasts are no longer commercially viable, while in the Western Pacific they have been depleted alarmingly.