[Coral-List] Selling coral - Brigid
Eric Borneman
eborneman at uh.edu
Fri Feb 15 09:31:57 EST 2008
Brigid and list:
Thank you for clarifying the QCF position. Thanks also to those who
have rightly corrected the CITES appendix issues.
Now, correct me if I am wrong, but until 2006 all coral collection in
Australia was kept in Australia and the small scale noted in the
Wabnitz 2003 citation reflects that level. A 2006 DEH report was
produced after a 2005 ecological assessment by McCormack of the QDPI&F
based largely on Vicki Harriott's 2001 assessment. In that report it
stated, "The sale of corals to international markets is potentially
quite lucrative, especially to the USA and Europe where the trade in
marine aquarium species is estimated to be worth US$200 million
annually (Harriott 2001).” Of course, that value is significantly
higher today than it was at the time of the Harriott report.
The DEH assessment was published in June 2006 and by the end of the
month, Andrew McNee approved the opening of the QCF, backdating it to
the beginning of the month, removed depth limits, and increased
harvest area due to rezoning from the 2004 amendment of the GBRMP Act
of 1975. "Coral harvesters will be permitted to take coral in all
Queensland waters (without a depth limitation) north of latitude
24°30’ south (the southern boundary of the GBRMP). Due to unique
circumstances, two operators will retain their existing leases south
of this latitude. This reflects industry trends and provides for more
sustainable use of corals through the spread of fishing pressure
across a wider area. The Policy provides for the management of future
localised depletion problems in existing and potential high use areas.
Through its provision for close monitoring of the high use areas
adjacent to Cairns and the Keppel Group, the Policy allows for action
to be taken if localised depletion problems emerge.”"
During a quick period of time, McNee also opened up the following to
wildlife trade: corals and other invertebrates from Western Australia,
the Heard Islands and McDonald Islands, the Queensland East Coast
Inshore Finfish Fishery, the New South Wales Ocean Trawl Fishery, the
Western Australia Pilbara Fish Trawl Interim Managed Fishery, the
harvest of Phycodurus eques (leafy seadragon) from South Australian
waters, and Phyllopteryx taeniolatus (weedy seadragon), Hippocampus
breviceps (short headed seahorse) and Hippocampus abdominalis (pot
bellied seahorse) from Victorian waters, the Western Australian North
Coast Shark Fishery, the South Australian Giant Crab Fishery, the New
South Wales Ocean Trap and Line Fishery, the Joint Authority Southern
Demersal Gillnet and Demersal Longline Managed Fishery, the South
Australian Lakes and Coorong Fishery, and the South Australian Sea
Urchin Fishery. He also supported wetland reclamation projects
involving Korea that reduced or eliminated migratory bird habitat for
protected species.
Other trade amendments were made in regard to export exemptions for
the following:
Marine Aquarium Fish
Deep Water Demersal Finfish
Coral Reef Finfish
Spanner Crab
Mud Crab
Pipefish Incidental Trawl Catch
Gulf of Carpentaria Inshore Finfish
Gulf of Carpentaria Line Fishery
Blue Swimmer Crab
Developmental East Coast Slipper Lobster
Stout Whiting Trawl
Eel
East Coast Otter Trawl
Developmental Moreton Bay Beche de Mer
East Coast Spanish Mackerel Fishery
East Coast Beche-de-mer
Rock Lobster
Rocky Reef Finfish
Developmental Gulf of Carpentaria Finfish Trawl
Specimen Shell
East Coast Pearl
East Coast Trochus
East Coast Inshore and Estuarine Fin Fish
River and Inshore Beam Trawl
Developmental Jellyfish Fishery
In 2007, Claire Hewitt opened up another fishery in November 2007; the
harvesting of specimens that are, or are derived from, fish or
invertebrates, other than specimens of species listed under Part 13 of
the EPBC Act, taken in the Coral Sea Fishery.
She also amended law by exempting species for trade taken in the
trawl, line, trochus and rock lobster, aquarium and trap (trial)
sectors of the Coral Sea Fishery, the Western Australia Shark Bay Crab
Interim Managed Fishery, the New South Wales Abalone Fishery, the
Western Australian South Coast Crustacean Fishery, and allowed
continued harvest without reassessment of the East Coast Spanish
Mackerel Fishery, and the South Coast Crustacean Fishery.
As a result, live corals are now being exported from Australia to the
United States, Canada, Europe and other nations en masse and are
ridiculously easy to obtain. They are available in some countries with
greater ease than those from Indonesia.
The collection of corals for curios and jewelry is an issue and many
curio vendors such as the link that started this thread are clearly
not the product of storm damage. Some vendors in the aquarium trade
that deal with dried skeletons (not a major part of the marine
aquarium trade which is now mostly in live corals) also have large
bleached or colored corals without so much as a broken corallite that
claim they are found dead or after storms. In the scheme of things,
this artisan website is the least of the problems, in my opinion.
What concerns me is what is going on with Australia and its seemingly
wholesale opening of so many fisheries, including multiple coral
fisheries, in the past two years. The fact that it comes from a
country with good management compared to other coral-exporting nations
is helpful, but the availability and amount of Australian live coral
coming into the US and other country's aquarium trade today is frankly
astonishing. How is it possible to manage and monitor these fisheries?
“The monitoring program will require operators to identify and report
their harvested coral to the taxonomic level specified in the logbook
(usually family). Reporting of detailed taxonomic information will be
required for a period of at least twelve months, during the transition
of management arrangements from specified areas to roving operations.
It is envisaged that the monitoring program will be discontinued after
such time that its purpose (ie. determining the species composition of
harvested coral, with particular respect to species of concern) has
been achieved. Prior to their return to port, coral harvesters will be
required to give verbal notice (via a 24 hour phone system) providing
a location and time of port arrival, and details of the amounts of
each category of coral harvested. It is intended that coral authority
conditions will be amended, by a ‘show cause’ process, to explicitly
state the requirement for a prior notice to be given for each fishing
trip.”
In other words, if I am interpreting correctly, the “sustainable”
coral fishery now allows roving collection virtually anywhere in
Australia, collectors need only identify corals to a family level for
12 months in a logbook, and then phone in to port and verbally tell
the port what they collected.
Please correct me if I am mistaken and apologies if I am.
Eric Borneman
__________________________
Eric Borneman
Dept. of Biology and Biochemistry
University of Houston
Science and Research Bldg. II
4800 Calhoun Rd.
Houston, TX 77204-5001
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