Interesting read for UK trading with Indonesia

[ReefRondo]

 

[ReefRondo]

And here is the article in full to read if you can’t be bothered zooming in to the picture.


GOVERNMENT department DEFRA is funding a project to
build a shared understanding of the coral trade between
Indonesia and the UK, and to develop a practical
identification guide for regulators in both countries.
Corals are the world's most traded marine animals on
the CITES list (Convention on the International Trade in
Endangered Species) due to demand from hobbyists for
use in marine aquaria. A 2021 study by United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization found that, from
1990 to 2016, exporting countries reported to CITES
around 1.6 million direct export transactions in marine
animals (excluding mammals, birds and reptiles), 97%
of which were in corals. In the UK, over 60% of direct
CITES imports are in live coral.
Indonesia is the world's largest exporter of CITES-
listed coral, accounting for an estimated 90% of the
market, and the country is increasingly looking to
develop more sustainable alternatives to harvesting wild
corals, such as creating coral farms.
However, inspectors have found it difficult to
differentiate between wild
collected corals and farmed
corals and, with over 440
different types of coral
being traded, there is a risk
that desirable, high-value
species which may be
difficult to farm or subject to
an import suspension are
Male lentipes bunagaya,
Picture credit: Ken Maedas
being mis-labelled and
therefore traded illegally.


As part of the DEFRA project,
stakeholders from Indonesia
and the UK, including
government agencies, scientific
experts, regulatory bodies,
regional NGOs, and industry
members, took part in a series
of virtual workshops to map
roles and responsibilities along
the supply chain from
Indonesia to the UK, and
enhance the collaboration
between the two countries.
The next stage is to develop
a coral trade visual guide that
can be used quickly and easily
to identify different types of
coral during their journey to
retail stores. Project partners
will be working with trade
inspectors and industry leaders
both in the UK and Indonesia
to prioritise which species the
guide should focus on, and to
identify key signals in
mislabelling a wild collected
coral for a farmed one.
Once the guide has been
finalised and field-tested in the
field, it will be made available
to all CITES parties as an aid to
ensuring the coral trade is legal,
traceable, and sustainable.

 

[blaxsun]

I'll remain cautiously optimistic, but I think this will take 3-4 generations of effort to see any real change. Whether or not we'll still have any viable reefs in 25-50 years is anyone's guess at this point.

 

[FMF0331]

That's a long read, I'll wait for the movie.

Whether or not we'll still have any viable reefs in 25-50 years is anyone's guess at this point.

I remember diving in Thailand, supposed to be one of the better dive site in the world. When our dive boat arrived to the diving site, 12 other diving boats / diving companies was already anchored up off loading dozens of divers.
Our ocean is taking a beating .

 

[blaxsun]

That's a long read, I'll wait for the movie.

I remember diving in Thailand, supposed to be one of the better dive site in the world. When our dive boat arrived to the diving site, 12 other diving boats / diving companies was already anchored up off loading dozens of divers.
Our ocean is taking a beating .

Don't forget dumping any sewage from the boats on the way there and back...

 

[ReefRondo]

I was reading about bilge dumping today. Honestly I’m not sure how people can do things like this.