Deep Trouble: The World’s Coral Reefs Are Being Decimated, All For A Few Gaudy Trinkets

Over the next two years, four more suspicious shipments — of similar magnitude and similarly mislabeled — would arrive in U.S. ports, with the most recent having come to Tampa earlier this year. The former reef material was bound for the curio trade, an off-the-radar market that spans from low-end, roadside shell shops to posh interior-design companies. The shipping containers and the repeated pattern of mislabeled coral are now at the center of a federal investigation being led by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that could result in criminal charges and stiff financial penalties against the people who were importing it. Sources familiar with the ongoing investigation would not reveal the names of those involved but say the same Solomon Islands-based company exported all of the containers to several American importers. [Full Article]

Additional Reporting:

Seven Florida Coral Species “Extremely Likely to Go Extinct,” Warns National Marine Fisheries

Precious Red and Pink Corals Need Protection Under CITES

Seasick and Sunburnt: Throwing Up on Ken Nedimyer’s Coral Nursery

Sponges in Palm Beach Waters Hit by Mystery Disease (VIDEO)

Mystery Sponge-Killing Disease Now Seen From Palm Beach to Lower Keys