UN Panel Rejects Any Limitations On Trade In Corals For Jewelry Markets - Reuters

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Reuters) - A U.N. conference rejected on Sunday trade restrictions on red and pink corals used in jewelry in what environmentalists called a new setback for endangered marine species. Delegates at the 175-nation meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) in Doha failed to back a U.S. and European Union proposal to limit trade in 31 species of corals, found from the Pacific to the Mediterranean.

"Vanity has once again trumped conservation," said David Allison of Oceana, which calls itself the world's largest international ocean conservation group, of the decision that would have affected trade worth tens of millions of dollars. "Today is yet another example of CITES failing to protect endangered marine species," he said. On Friday, the March 13-25 conference also rejected a proposal to ban trade in bluefin tuna, prized as sushi in Japan.

Sunday's coral proposal fell short of the needed two-thirds majority by mustering 64 votes in favor with 59 against and 10 abstentions, delegates said.

The proposed restrictions would have stopped short of a trade ban but required countries to ensure better regulations and to ensure that stocks of the slow-growing corals, in the family coralliidae, were sustainably harvested.

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