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It Doesn't Matter If I Kill Another Species...

By cmcclain on June 20, 2007.


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if I look pretty. Whenever I travel, inevitably I come across a shop or two selling red coral jewelry. I know what the red coral means...pillaging of the oceans. My first thought however is who wheres this tacky stuff. Are there people who think this stuff is beautiful. Luckily, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species put the coral on a list of protected wildlife, meaning exporters will now have to prove that the coral was harvested without threatening the species' survival before they can sell it. Corralium is a slow growing deep-water species.

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But what if it's an antique?

What depressed me was tourist towns along the Java coast, where shop after shop had mounted sea turtle hanging on the wall for a small price. Nevermind that nobody could legally export it.

I do jewelery work ( hey, a marine biologist and jeweler in training!) and I don't think I've ever used coral in my work.

Not for conservation reasons, so much as it never appealed. So much of the gem/stone trade is highly unethical, but I think most of my materials are safe, but no coral in my supplies. No bone, a very small amount of shell.

I admittedly don't know much about coral harvesting, so once I have some time this evening, you've given me food for an evening of reading up.