Proceedings of the First International Workshop on Corallium Science, Management, and Trade March 16-20, 2009 Hong Kong, China Edited by Andrew W. Bruckner Glynnis G. Roberts U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Marine Fisheries Service NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-OPR-43 NOAA Technical Memorandum CRCP-8 September 2009 This publication should be cited as: Bruckner, A.W. and G. G. Roberts (editors). 2009. Proceedings of the First International Workshop on Corallium Science, Management, and Trade. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-OPR-43 and CRCP-8, Silver Spring, MD 153 pp. Significant support for the development of this document was provided by NOAA Fisheries, Office of Habitat Conservation, and NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program. The views expressed in this document are those of the authors and the participants of the workshop, and do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the U.S. Government, NOAA or DOC. Additional copies of this publication may be requested from: Nerie Canasa National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation 1315 East West Highway Silver Spring, MD 20910-3282 [email protected] Proceedings of the First International Workshop on Corallium Science, Management, and Trade Edited by Andrew W. Bruckner and Glynnis G. Roberts Office of Habitat Conservation Habitat Protection NOAA Fisheries Coral Reef Conservation Program & I.M. Systems Group, Inc. at NOAA 1315 East-West Highway Silver Spring, MD 20910-3282 NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-OPR-43 NOAA Technical Memorandum CRCP-8 U.S. Department of Commerce Gary Locke, Secretary National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere National Marine Fisheries Service Jim Balsiger, Ph.D Assistant Administrator for Fisheries (acting) Proceedings of the First International Workshop on Corallium Science, Management, and Trade Organizing Committee Andrew Bruckner, NOAA Fisheries, Headquarters Glynnis Roberts, I.M. Systems Group, Inc. at NOAA Fisheries, Headquarters Frank Parrish, NOAA Fisheries, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Laura Noguchi, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Management Authority Ernie Cooper, World Wildlife Fund for Nature-Canada, TRAFFIC Jeremy Linneman, The Ocean Foundation Working Group Leaders Frank Parrish, NOAA Fisheries, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Vin Fleming, UK CITES Scientific Authority, Joint Nature Conservation Committee Sergio Rossi, ICTA, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Sponsors NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation Habitat Protection Silver Spring, MD NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program Silver Spring, MD The Ocean Foundation Washington, DC ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Andy Bruckner NOAA Fisheries The International Workshop on Corallium Science, Management, and Trade is the first of two workshops convened to better understand the biological status of precious corals in the family Coralliidae, the adequacy of existing management measures, and the benefits and limitations of a potential CITES Appendix-II listing at enhancing conservation of this taxa. The meeting was convened in response to an Appendix-II listing proposal submitted by the U.S. at the 14th meeting of the CITES Conference of Parties (COP 14), specifically to address questions pertaining to the ability to effectively implement a possible CITES listing. The workshop would not have been possible without the financial support provided by the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) and NOAA Fisheries, and supplementary funding from The Ocean Foundation. The meeting was organized and convened under unusual circumstances, with all meeting facilities, travel arrangements and lodging arranged under an extreme time crunch. Our steering committee, including Glynnis Roberts, Frank Parrish, Laura Noguchi, Jeremy Linneman, and Ernie Cooper were instrumental in helping me shape the working group tasks and agenda, and ensure we had the optimal mix of participants. This meeting would not been possible without the dedicated logistical support provided by Jeremy Linneman and Glynnis Roberts. I am extremely grateful to both Jeremy and Glynnis, who managed to shift locations from the Mediterranean, identify a new venue, and secure participation by Pacific experts in just under a month. Jeremy and Glynnis devoted several weeks prior to the workshop to communicate with the Corallium experts from the region, complete their travel arrangements, and assist them in developing presentations, white papers, and other background information. Jeremy and Glynnis also compiled all of the reports and background information into a detailed workshop document that guided discussions and deliberations. During the workshop, they provided invaluable assistance in organizing each session, providing audio-visual assistance, addressing technical issues, and making sure each participants’ needs were promptly and thoroughly addressed. I would like to acknowledge each of the keynote speakers, including Georgio Tsounis, Giovanni Santangelo, Sergio Rossi, Vin Fleming, Laura Noguchi, Ernie Cooper, Frank Parrish, Tony Montgomery, Susan Torntore, Joyce Wu and Soyo Takahashi, Abdelaziz Zoubi, Chi-Shin Chen, Niphon Phongsuwan, Julia Robertson, and Nozomu Iwasaki. Their detailed presentations during the first and second days of the meeting highlighted key issues surrounding these taxa and provided a framework for the working group deliberations. These talks included comprehensive background information on various aspects of Corallium biology, population status, fisheries, and trade. I am most grateful for the dedicated efforts of the three working group chairs, Frank Parrish, Vin Fleming and Sergio Rossi, who facilitated discussions on their respective topics and compiled the information into detailed working group reports. I would also like to give special thanks to all of the participants, each of whom contributed their expertise to the development of these reports. Everyone was extremely congenial and respective of various viewpoints, and without these dedicated efforts, the outcomes of this workshop would have been much less comprehensive. The workshop successfully addressed many of the most pressing workshop questions and issues surrounding the effective conservation of Corallium, and it provides a framework for the second workshop, to be held in the Mediterranean in the fall of 2009. We look forward to continued collaborations with all of the participants, and would like to thank everyone for their involvement. Together, we can ensure the conservation, sustainable harvest, and trade of these jewels of the sea. v PREfaCE Andy Bruckner NOAA Fisheries Introduction Corallium has been intensively harvested for centuries, and both landings and population data provide strong evidence that most commercially viable Corallium beds are now depleted. Long term trends in landings from both the Pacific and Mediterranean and available data on population demographics of Mediterranean C. rubrum populations provide considerable evidence that known commercial beds of Corallium have declined to less than 20-30% of their historic baseline, meeting the criteria required for a CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) Appendix-II listing (Bruckner 2009). Nevertheless, questions remain regarding the effective implementation of a potential listing. There are difficulties in identifying Corallium specimens to species, especially processed material (polished and dyed jewelry including powdered and reconstituted Corallium). Identification to family (Coralliidae) or genus (Corallium, Paracorallium) may be possible and may be allowed under CITES, mirroring the approach taken with some of the other listed corals. If a CITES listing were adopted, countries would need to develop procedures for handling stockpiled coral harvested prior to a listing, which would be considered pre-Convention and could be traded under a CITES exemption document. There are also large local markets and trade between neighboring European Union countries, which would not be regulated by CITES. While regulating the international trade in Corallium presents challenges, a CITES listing could reduce illegal trade and promulgate stronger management and enforcement efforts by giving both exporting and importing countries joint responsibility for ensuring that trade is sustainable. A CITES listing requires monitoring and annual reporting of international trade, filling critical gaps in knowledge of harvest and trade levels. A listing would also promote research on the status and trends of Corallium populations and the impacts of fisheries, as well as the adoption of sustainable management approaches. Exporting countries would be required to meet non- detriment requirements of a CITES Appendix-II listing. While new administrative burdens would be associated with a CITES listing for Corallium, these are not insurmountable, having been successfully resolved in other species that presented similar challenges including stony corals, antipatharians, and seahorses. The following information includes a brief summary of what is known about the harvest, trade, and population status of Corallium. This is followed by an overview of recent activities undertaken to conserve these species through CITES, and the rationale for technical workshops on Corallium. Corallium fisheries and trade Precious corals in the family Coralliidae are important deep-water