Management hurdles for sustainable harvesting of Corallium rubrum
Georgios Tsounis
Sergio Rossi
Lorenzo Bramanti
Giovanni Santangelo
Abstract
Declining fishing yields of the highly valuable Mediterranean red coral indicated overexploitation by the 1980s. In response, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) established management guidelines in the late 1980s, such as daily quotas, minimum size, and most importantly, the ban of dredging for coral in 1994. However, recent data led to new concerns about the sustainability of coral harvest by highlighting previous and ongoing overexploitation. The US and EU reacted in 2007 and 2009 by proposing to include the family Corallidae in CITES Appendix II to regulate trade. However, the proposals were rejected based on the hope and promise that local management would provide a less obtrusive solution. This article argues that limited resources and insufficient interdisciplinarity limit the research needed to improve management guidelines, while a lack of human and financial resources hinder local management and efficient enforcement. In particular, illegal fishing is out of control and threatens the future of the industry. Furthermore, there is no consensus on the concept of sustainability of coral fisheries. The most alarming recent development is an increasing pressure by the industry to be permitted to harvest deep populations using remote operated vehicles, which will risk depletion of the last stocks left that have not been overharvested.
Tsounis G., Rossi S., Bramanti L. and Santangelo G. (2013) Management hurdles for sustainable harvesting of Corallium rubrum. Marine Policy 39: 361-364. 10.1016/j.marpol.2012.12.010
@article{Tsounis2013,
Title = {Management hurdles for sustainable harvesting of Corallium rubrum},
Author = {Tsounis, Georgios and Rossi, Sergio and Bramanti, Lorenzo and Santangelo, Giovanni},
Editor = {},
Journal = {Marine Policy},
Year = {2013},
Pages = {361-364},
Volume = {39},
Doi = {10.1016/j.marpol.2012.12.010},
Abstract = {Declining fishing yields of the highly valuable Mediterranean red coral indicated overexploitation by the 1980s. In response, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) established management guidelines in the late 1980s, such as daily quotas, minimum size, and most importantly, the ban of dredging for coral in 1994. However, recent data led to new concerns about the sustainability of coral harvest by highlighting previous and ongoing overexploitation. The US and EU reacted in 2007 and 2009 by proposing to include the family Corallidae in CITES Appendix II to regulate trade. However, the proposals were rejected based on the hope and promise that local management would provide a less obtrusive solution. This article argues that limited resources and insufficient interdisciplinarity limit the research needed to improve management guidelines, while a lack of human and financial resources hinder local management and efficient enforcement. In particular, illegal fishing is out of control and threatens the future of the industry. Furthermore, there is no consensus on the concept of sustainability of coral fisheries. The most alarming recent development is an increasing pressure by the industry to be permitted to harvest deep populations using remote operated vehicles, which will risk depletion of the last stocks left that have not been overharvested.},
}
TY - JOUR
AU - Tsounis, Georgios
AU - Rossi, Sergio
AU - Bramanti, Lorenzo
AU - Santangelo, Giovanni
TI - Management hurdles for sustainable harvesting of Corallium rubrum
T2 - Marine Policy
PY - 2013
SP - 361-364
VL - 39
DO - 10.1016/j.marpol.2012.12.010
AB - Declining fishing yields of the highly valuable Mediterranean red coral indicated overexploitation by the 1980s. In response, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) established management guidelines in the late 1980s, such as daily quotas, minimum size, and most importantly, the ban of dredging for coral in 1994. However, recent data led to new concerns about the sustainability of coral harvest by highlighting previous and ongoing overexploitation. The US and EU reacted in 2007 and 2009 by proposing to include the family Corallidae in CITES Appendix II to regulate trade. However, the proposals were rejected based on the hope and promise that local management would provide a less obtrusive solution. This article argues that limited resources and insufficient interdisciplinarity limit the research needed to improve management guidelines, while a lack of human and financial resources hinder local management and efficient enforcement. In particular, illegal fishing is out of control and threatens the future of the industry. Furthermore, there is no consensus on the concept of sustainability of coral fisheries. The most alarming recent development is an increasing pressure by the industry to be permitted to harvest deep populations using remote operated vehicles, which will risk depletion of the last stocks left that have not been overharvested.
ER -
