collect coral. Finally, the fishing of red coral was totally forbidden in this area.
Exploitation of new areas is believed to occur in the short term off Morocco and
Algeria (Cau et al. 2013).
In the Mediterranean, the protection of the red coral is strategic and should be
more strictly protected not only by regional and national laws but also by international conventions. Recently, Corallium rubrum has been included in the IUCN Red
List as an “Endangered” species (Garrabou et al. 2015; Otero et al. 2017), and it is
also listed in Appendix III (protected fauna species) of Bern Convention. Nonetheless, it is still only included in Annex III (species whose exploitation is regulated) of
Barcelona Convention and in Appendix V (species whose exploitation may be
subject to management measures) of the EU Habitats Directive. Proposals for the
inclusion of Corallium rubrum in the CITES Appendix II (species not necessarily
threatened with extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled)
were started in 1987. Successive proposals in 2007 and 2010 for including in that
Appendix all the Corallium species and the whole family Coralliidae were rejected
by CITES Parties, after the FAO Expert Advisory Panel concluded that the available
evidence did not support such proposals (Tsounis et al. 2010; Cannas et al. 2019).
Up to now, all these efforts have resulted in only four species of Corallium currently
listed under Appendix III (that regulates trade in the included species and needs the
cooperation of other countries to prevent unsustainable or illegal exploitation) by
China (CITES 2019) and adaptive management plans for red coral fisheries in the
Mediterranean (Bruckner 2016). Apparently, Coralliidae in general and Corallium
rubrum in particular remain excluded from CITES because the currently available
data are still insufficient to quantify the decline of populations (Bruckner 2009;
Santangelo and Bramanti 2010; Santangelo et al. 2010; Cannas et al. 2019). However, one may also wonder if this is really justified by insufficient knowledge (and
the non-application of the precautionary principle in this case) to manage a resource
which is just as unnecessary for human well-being as black corals, hawksbill turtle
shells or sperm whale ivory, or it if is influenced by the red coral industry lobby.
10.3.4 Black Corals
Antipatharians, commonly known as black corals, have been recognized in the last
decade as important components of Mediterranean deep coral gardens (Bo et al.
2009) and are frequently found associated to deep gorgonian assemblages, where
quite often they are the dominant species, mainly on the deeper rocky shoals located
on the upper continental slope (Bo et al. 2014, 2015). Black corals are extremely
long-lived and slow-growing organisms; therefore, the presence of large colonies is
an indicative of well-preserved environments (Bo et al. 2015).
Four species are the primary components of the Mediterranean antipatharian
fauna: Antipathes dichotoma, Parantipathes larix, Leiopathes glaberrima and
Antipathella subpinnata (Bo et al. 2018). A fifth species typical of the Macaronesian
islands, Antipathella wollastoni, has been reported in the Gibraltar Strait (Ocaña
384
J. Templado et al.
Exploitation of new areas is believed to occur in the short term off Morocco and
Algeria (Cau et al. 2013).
In the Mediterranean, the protection of the red coral is strategic and should be
more strictly protected not only by regional and national laws but also by international conventions. Recently, Corallium rubrum has been included in the IUCN Red
List as an “Endangered” species (Garrabou et al. 2015; Otero et al. 2017), and it is
also listed in Appendix III (protected fauna species) of Bern Convention. Nonetheless, it is still only included in Annex III (species whose exploitation is regulated) of
Barcelona Convention and in Appendix V (species whose exploitation may be
subject to management measures) of the EU Habitats Directive. Proposals for the
inclusion of Corallium rubrum in the CITES Appendix II (species not necessarily
threatened with extinction but that may become so unless trade is closely controlled)
were started in 1987. Successive proposals in 2007 and 2010 for including in that
Appendix all the Corallium species and the whole family Coralliidae were rejected
by CITES Parties, after the FAO Expert Advisory Panel concluded that the available
evidence did not support such proposals (Tsounis et al. 2010; Cannas et al. 2019).
Up to now, all these efforts have resulted in only four species of Corallium currently
listed under Appendix III (that regulates trade in the included species and needs the
cooperation of other countries to prevent unsustainable or illegal exploitation) by
China (CITES 2019) and adaptive management plans for red coral fisheries in the
Mediterranean (Bruckner 2016). Apparently, Coralliidae in general and Corallium
rubrum in particular remain excluded from CITES because the currently available
data are still insufficient to quantify the decline of populations (Bruckner 2009;
Santangelo and Bramanti 2010; Santangelo et al. 2010; Cannas et al. 2019). However, one may also wonder if this is really justified by insufficient knowledge (and
the non-application of the precautionary principle in this case) to manage a resource
which is just as unnecessary for human well-being as black corals, hawksbill turtle
shells or sperm whale ivory, or it if is influenced by the red coral industry lobby.
10.3.4 Black Corals
Antipatharians, commonly known as black corals, have been recognized in the last
decade as important components of Mediterranean deep coral gardens (Bo et al.
2009) and are frequently found associated to deep gorgonian assemblages, where
quite often they are the dominant species, mainly on the deeper rocky shoals located
on the upper continental slope (Bo et al. 2014, 2015). Black corals are extremely
long-lived and slow-growing organisms; therefore, the presence of large colonies is
an indicative of well-preserved environments (Bo et al. 2015).
Four species are the primary components of the Mediterranean antipatharian
fauna: Antipathes dichotoma, Parantipathes larix, Leiopathes glaberrima and
Antipathella subpinnata (Bo et al. 2018). A fifth species typical of the Macaronesian
islands, Antipathella wollastoni, has been reported in the Gibraltar Strait (Ocaña
384
J. Templado et al.