NATURE WATCH
Expert calls for regulation of coral trade
Director and Head Scientist for Reef Explorer (Fiji) Ltd Victor Bonito has called for the regulation of coral trade because it is already under threat from human activity.
He was speaking during the first engagement of the Fiji Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Management Authority meeting on Monday.
The meeting was held at the Ministry of Environment office in Suva.
“The coral and live rock trade is one that offers great potential to be regulated so that it’s undertaken in a manner in which the integrity of the ecosystem is maintained and the risk of inadvertent species loss is minimised,” he said.
“It’s my hope that the regulatory authorities and industry players are able to work together to ensure that these goals are met.”
With the rapid state of the decline of coral reefs on a global scale, Mr Bonito urged authorities and partners to look into the corals and the diversity of life it supports.
“Coral communities on Fijian reefs are no different than those found in the rest of the world that are facing negative impacts from local threats including overfishing, sedimentation caused by runoff, poor land use and development practices, wastewater and other pollution from coastal development,” he said.
Certain species are at risk of local extinction from the practice of overharvesting.
“While the risk of overharvesting a species can also be mitigated by appropriate regulation of the trade, the current state of coral taxonomy presents some serious challenges in doing so,” Mr Bonito said.
Reef Explorer Fiji Limited is a research and development business enterprise undertaken to support local resource conservation efforts (particularly marine) by developing, promoting, and conducting related research and educational programmes.