The article, "Reefs Suffer Amid Surging Demand for Jewelry Coral" can be found on the New York Times website. This article was written by Yuriko Nagano and published on November 12, 2013. It contains information about how Japanese and Chinese boats have been taking coral from oceans in an environmentally damaging way to fulfill high demands for jewelry coral.
Jewelry coral is a form of jewelry that is in high demand in Japan and China, and is very popular. This type of jewelry is made with real coral, which can only be harvested underwater in reefs. However, the price has increased dramatically over the past few years, giving sellers of this popular jewelry high profits. Because of these high prices, many people have begun harvesting the coral illegally in environmentally damaging ways, simply to make more money.
These coral poachers have been getting their coral by using drag nets, which destroy the entire ecosystem around the coral reef. By doing this, they are ruining the habitat of many fish that are highly prized in Japan, such as the Japanese Amberjack and Akamachi. Without a good place to live, these species of fish will eventually decrease and people won't be able to enjoy this type of food anymore. In addition to fish, the poachers are also destroying the habitats of other sea creatures, and are decreasing the amount of coral in these areas.
The global price of jewelry corals per year is 5 to 6 million dollars, based on the quality of the coral. Noriyoshi Yoshimoto, president of the Precious Coral Protection and Development Association, says,"The price of jewelry coral varies widely, depending on the shade
of color, the size and the quality of the coral." This proves that
in order to make more money, the poachers would make sure they harvest the
best coral possible, which could take a long time and could destroy more of the
reefs than taking the coral they find first, no matter how bad the
quality. Thankfully, illicit coral fishing is being worked on by the
Taiwanese government, in hopes that this business will soon be put to a
stop.
I think this article makes some very good points. The damage
to the coral reefs is becoming too much, but there is a limited amount
Japan and China can do about it. The demands for this type of
jewelry is excessive and in order to fulfill their
countries' needs, the governments have no choice than get more coral. The
only measure that can be done to slow down this process is stopping coral
poachers from taking more coral than necessary in an unauthorized way.
This process reminds me somewhat of what is happening in South America to
the Amazon Rainforest. Lots of poachers are cutting down trees in
addition to the factories that had been doing so beforehand. This
multiplies the number of trees being cut and will damage the environment
faster.
This article also reminds me of something we learned in Biology class.
We learned that an ecosystem can be ruined by way of removing just one
type of organism, instead of many different types at once. Removing or
decreasing the population of coral from the coral reef environment will also
lower the populations of animals that live in coral or hide in it from
predators. It will also increase the populations of organisms who eat animals
previously living in the coral reef ecosystem because they would no longer
have a home and would have no means of protection. With constantly
decreasing amounts of coral because of coral poachers and jewelry companies,
this whole ecosystem will eventually be destroyed.
Reading this article has completely changed my view of where products
come from. Purchasing coral jewelry is a task most people wouldn't think
twice about, but it actually is harvested by poachers or companies, and
its population is slowly decreasing because of this. The same
is true for other products, especially wood. Sometimes, the harvesting of
objects cannot be decreased a lot, like coral, because the
demand is so high, but anyone can help with this by not buying as much of it to
lower its demand. Thanks to this article, I will now think more deeply
about where different items come from, because they could be harvested
illegally or harming the environment.
Article Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/13/fashion/reefs-suffer-amid-surging-demand-for-jewelry-coral.html?pagewanted=2&_r=0&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1386639508-zTLJhoLuhULdl7/xagfz0A
Photo Link: http://www.serranojewelry.com/coral.htm
Your title made me want to read your article right away, along with your eye cathcing picture. First, I liked how you shared why corals are being sold for higher profits these day, and how that is leading to more people using coral to sell. Next, I liked how you tied in killing sea corals with endagering types of fish and other sea creatures. Also, I found it interesting that you connected wha tis happing in the amazon, with cutting down trees, to what is happening with coral in the ocean. Finally, I liked the strong connection you had to biology class, from what we learned, what happens if an animal goes extinct in a food chain.
ReplyDeleteI think that your article summary was really thorough and your title was eye-catching. I like the connection you made the Amazon Rainforest and how you related the trees to coral. Until now, I was unaware of the illegal harvesting of coral for jewelry and I didn't know that this product was in such high demand in Japan and China. I do see how the government can't just stop this because of the high demand for the coral jewelry, which makes it hard to find a solution to the problem. I think you summary was very informative and well written.
ReplyDeleteThe title really caught my eye because I didn't know coral jewelry was a thing. The relation to what we're learning in class made it easier to not just think that poaching is only really a problem for the coral. It was interesting to point out how the government can't just stop this industry because its so large. Good job
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your article. I have never heard of Coral Jewelry before. I myself have been to a Coral Reef before and I was amazed by how beautiful it was. I am outraged that people are destroying these amazing works of art!
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me like the coral reefs are being destroyed for their coral just as elephants oftentimes are for their ivory tusks. It's sad to think that people would rather get nice jewelry than protect coral reef ecosystems, but it's also pretty likely that most of the consumers don't know about where their product came from or how it was harvested. The only way to stop this illegal trade would be to educate people about how they are helping to destroy coral reefs, and to shame them if they continue to buy this jewelry. This method has worked well in the past, as ivory rings and necklaces are no longer considered stylish throughout the West, causing the demand for elephant tusks to go down greatly and save many lives.
ReplyDelete