International Trade in Coral Reef Organisms

Coral reef ecosystems provide irreplaceable economic, social and environmental services to tropical nations and the international community. Unfortunately, coral reefs are being degraded at an accelerated rate from a host of human activities, including the extraction of resources to supply the international trade in ornamental species and live food fishes. Of particular concern is the volume of organisms needed to supply a growing trade, and the destructive methods used in their collection. In many cases, the collection appears to be occurring at unsustainable levels or uses environmentally destructive poisons such as cyanide. The United States is by far the world's largest importer of coral reef organisms for curios, jewelry and the marine aquarium industry, and thus has a major impact on these biologically rich and ecologically important ecosystems, and a responsibility to ensure that it does not contribute further to their decline. The U.S. has developed a series of strategies to ensure that collection of coral reef organisms is sustainable and non-destructive, and to ensure best handling and transport practices.

Types of Organisms in International Trade

Many coral reef species are harvested for commercial purposes, including food fish, the aquarium trade, live fish markets, construction materials, curios, jewelry, pharmaceuticals and traditional medicines.  As many as 1000 species of reef fish and 300 species of invertebrates are collected from the wild to supply marine aquarium hobbyists; in addition, about 100 species of stony corals and live rock are in international trade.  Stony coral enters the international trade as cured coral skeletons (coral collected when living,  bleached and cleaned prior to export), carvings, jewelry, furniture, artwork, and live specimens.   The vast majority of all coral in trade originates in Indonesia, Fiji, Vietnam, and the Solomon Islands, respectively.

Extraction of Corals for Aquarium Specimens and Curios

TheUnited States was consistently the largest importer of stony corals and reef rock ("live rock") during the1990s. Ironically, the U.S. either prohibits or strictly limits the extraction of stony corals in its own federal, state and territorial waters, because of widespread concerns that the organisms are vulnerable to overexploitation. Nonetheless, 70-80% of the live coral, 95% of the live rock and 50% of the dead in international trade is imported into the U.S. each year, and the global trade in corals is increasing at a rate of 10-20% per year.

In 1997 over 500,000 items and 15,000 kg of stony corals,and 410,000 items and 600,000 kg of reefsubstrate (live rock) were imported into the U.S. In 1998 theU.S. imported 550,000 items and 94,000 kg of stony corals and 570,000 items and 890,000 kg of reef substrate. The live coral trade targets hundreds of species, with a high preference for massive, large-polyp corals that may be uncommon and are slow-growing.

Corals extracted for curios are primarily fast-growing branching species. Although these are more abundant, they are collected at a much larger size, and the trade targets reproductively mature colonies. Live rock extraction leads to increased erosion and loss of important fisheries habitat.

All photos: Andy Bruckner