Quarreling Over Red and Pink Coral

A note before you read this article.  Most affordable "Red and Pink" coral jewelry on the market today is actually white coral dyed red or pink.  These jewelry pieces are a hazard to white clothing.   The color rubs off, especially if they get wet from high humidity or sweat.  Sterling Canyon sells few pieces of coral; none in the red or pink variety.


Doha, Qatar--A measure that would have granted trade protection to red and pink corals (Coralliidae) used in jewelry and home décor failed to garner enough votes to pass at an international endangered species convention held Sunday in Doha, Qatar.

According to a news release from ocean conservation organization SeaWeb, the vote to protect red and pink coral failed to receive the necessary two-thirds majority at the 15th Conference of Parties of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Sixty-four countries voted in favor of protection, 59 against it and 10 abstained.

SeaWeb had called on governments to protect Coralliidae under Appendix II of CITES, which would have required countries wishing to export these species to prove that trade is not harming their continued survival.

SeaWeb created the Too Precious to Wear campaign, which calls on jewelers and designers to refuse to use or purchase red or pink coral until sound management is in place and populations of the long-lived, slow-growing species have recovered, the release states.

Industry supporters of Too Precious to Wear and the vote to protect coral include Tiffany and Co. and designer Temple St. Clair, among others.

In the release, SeaWeb called the decision on Appendix II, “a major step backward for the long-term survival of red and pink coral and the industries that depend on them," and noted that intensive lobbying by coral industry interests occurred in the days leading up to the vote.

The United States and European Union, which put forward the proposal, have the opportunity to bring the issue back to a plenary vote on Thursday, but it's unclear if this will happen, the release states.

"Coralliidae are in desperate need for a mechanism that controls the immense trade in these species," Kristian Teleki, vice president of science initiatives for SeaWeb, said in the release. "CITES could have provided that but [Sunday] the representatives failed to heed the science showing these populations are in steep decline. It is now up to the jewelry and design industries and their customers to act where governments have failed."

According to the release, red and pink coral are among the world's most valuable wildlife commodities but have been intensively fished for centuries to meet consumer demand for jewelry and curios. The United States alone imported 28 million pieces of red and pink coral between 2001 and 2008.

Coralliidae grow less than one millimeter a year and can live to be more than 100 years old. Research shows that for populations to be sustained, they shouldn't be fished until they are 98 years old. But current practice is to remove colonies at seven to 10 years of age, the release states.

More than 30 to 50 metric tons of Coralliidae is taken from the ocean each year. But unlike other coral species in trade, this one receives no international trade protection.