A great artistic tradition threatened by greed

This is an edited version of an article I wrote for the WWF website.

For hundreds – even thousands – of years, red and pink corals (species of the family known as Coralliidae) have been a key component in jewellery and objets d'art in many cultures, from the Americas, through the Mediterranean, Africa, India, as far as China and Japan. Now, however, this tradition is under threat because of over-harvesting of the corals, driven by demand in international trade.

The ancient Greeks believed that this delicately-branched coral was the petrified blood of the Gorgon, Medusa, who was slain by Perseus. In fact, the branching structures are colonies of tiny animals, known as polyps, set in a hard skeleton of calcium carbonate that is coloured by carotene.

The Romans believed that this coral could protect children from harm, as well as cure snake and scorpion bites, while in Hindu astrology it is associated with the planet Mars.   

The town of Torre del Greco, near Naples, Italy, can probably claim to be the leading centre of coral craftsmanship in the world, with several thousand people employed in the industry there.

Sadly, however, they are relying increasingly on coral caught in the Pacific, as the stocks in the Mediterranean have become severely depleted. In the Mediterranean, colonies of Corallium rubrum of up to 50cm in height were once common; however, now more than 90 percent of colonies in fished areas are only 3 to 5cm tall and less than half are sexually mature. 

The smaller the colony, the fewer branches it has. Therefore, since each branch is studded with the individual animals, known as polyps, that are the building blocks of the colony (yes indeed, corals are animals that form and grow as a colony), using colony height as the reference point does not give a true picture of the catastrophic scale of the decline. In fact, a reduction of three-quarters in the height of the colony represents a much greater reduction in the overall size, and so number of polyps that it carries. This in turn means that the capacity of colonies to reproduce themselves is seriously weakened - in other words, the coral is being fished out of the Mediterranean much faster than it can replenish itself.

  

Now there are signs also of depletion of the Pacific stocks. Data in the Pacific shows that the quantities of coral harvested have declined from peak levels of 100-400 tons a year in the late 1980s/ early 1990s to less than five tons currently. 

Clearly, red and pink corals are in crisis. What is at stake is not only the loss of one of the beautiful creatures of the ocean, but the end of a long and proud tradition of human craftsmanship - effectively, part of mankind's cultural heritage - unless urgent and effective steps are taken to limit the exploitation of this resource.

Ironically, while international trade in many other coral species is regulated by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), that in red and pink coral - arguably the most valuable and widely traded species - remains unregulated. In fact, trade interests have lobbied aggressively and successfully at two recent meetings of the Convention to prevent adoption of measures that would have allowed for such regulation to ensure sustainability and legality of supply.

Therefore, my advice is DO NOT BUY red and pink coral jewellery until the exploitation and trade of these species is placed on a sustainable footing. I say this, not because I want to see an end to the manufacture of coral jewellery but because trade interests will have to to accept international regulation of the trade if the tradition is to survive in the long term.

Seaweb is the NGO that has at the cutting edge of coral conservation issues. Through its “Too Precious to Wear” campaign, it has successfully persuaded over 50 high profile designers, manufacturers and retailers – including Tiffany and Co. – to cease using red and pink coral. 

However, to date, Seaweb’s efforts within its limited resources have focussed on the United States of America. If this campaign is to be effective, Seaweb needs more resources to widen the scope – at least to Europe and, if possible, to the fashion industry in Asia. Only in that way can this unique piece of our natural and cultural heritage  be preserved for the future.

A part of us we have to watch

While I was still living in Ireland in 2008 I took part in an Amnesty Ireland stunt aimed at getting people in O’Connell Street to sign a petition against Guantanamo Bay. Overall the reception was very positive and nearly everyone we approached agreed willingly to sign. I recall, though, that one man, strutting by with his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket, stopped in front of the petition and said “What’s this?” – as if, somehow, we didn’t have any right to be there. When I explained to him what it was and, tongue in cheek, invited him to sign, he refused. Then, as an afterthought, he exclaimed: “You do-gooders – ye make me sick!” and strutted off.

I had to remember that I was representing Amnesty and that it was not my role to exchange insults with this oaf. However, while I still don’t have any sympathy with his attitude, even at this distance in time, I am not naive enough to think that it is unusual – or even that it is not shared by others who are, to all intents and purposes, decent men and women.

Actually, I suspect that most of them are men. I recall that once, on Ireland’s stalwart chat show, The Late Late Show, an interview was held with a woman who was the victim of an abduction and a savage attack that necessitated facial surgery. At one point she remarked that, whereas her female friends were full of solicitous questions about how she was feeling and how she was coping, the almost universal reaction of her male friends was “Oh, if I could only get my hands on that ****er!”.

That would probably have been my reaction too. 

I recall similar feelings the Dunblane massacre, (in 1996, when unemployed shopkeeper Thomas Hamilton murdered 16 schoolchildren and one teacher before killing himself). The next day an office colleague echoed my own thoughts when he remarked that the worst aspect was the fact that the perpetrator had killed himself, thus forestalling any punishment (by which he – and I – meant retaliation or revenge). In fact, I heard afterwards that even an ambulance worker at the scene said that he had great difficulty in resisting the urge to do violence to Hamilton’s corpse. 

These vengeful emotions remind me of a quip in the 1980s detective series, Micky Spillane’s Mike Hammer, in which Stacy Keach played a highly sexed, macho private eye. On one of the (rare) occasions when he refused an invitation  from a pretty woman to stay the night, he remarked in the voice-over “Part of me wanted to stay but that part of me had got me into trouble before”. Similarly, the part of me that responds to violent tragedy by wanting to see people suffer can get me into trouble too.

A lot of the support for Guantanamo – or the reluctance to condemn it – springs from justifiable anger at the atrocities of 9/11. That anger leads to a desire to see people suffer in retaliation. Some people feel they would not be showing due respect to the victims of the atrocities if they were to stop to think about some fundamental questions, such as: whether or not it is only the right people are suffering in Guantanamo; whether indiscriminate round-up and torture of suspects is the best way to find the real perpetrators; whether this approach will prevent a repetition of the incident; or even whether it will bring real solace and succour to the families of the victims. The answer in all cases is an emphatic “no”.

None of this is intended to imply any compassion on my part for the real perpetrators. While I have grave reservations about the summary execution of Osama Bin Laden, I have no sympathy for him. Nor do I mourn the passing of Saddam Hussein or Muammar Gaddafi, but that does not detract from the fact that huge questions still surround the manner of their killing (yes I know Hussein was tried and, even if the procedure was unsatisfactory, any credible trial would have found him guilty – what I question is the Americans’ role in the whole affair and their failure to account for their previous and long-standing role as his friend and ally).

So, by all means get angry when you learn of acts of injustice and violence and by all means wish the perpetrators harm but please pause to put these emotions into a wider context. 

I’m saying that primarily to myself.

Into Italy

Last weekend was the first time I had occasion to use the Mont Blanc Tunnel, when we took a short weekend break in the Val d'Aosta, on the Italian side of the mountain.

It's a beautiful region, with snow-capped peaks, vineyards and orchards. The local architecture is distinctive for the large, thick semi-circular slate slabs that are used on the roofs. The ghosts of the ancient Romans are everywhere; Aosta itself boasts a superb amphitheatre, an underground crypt and other remains while there is an impressive aqueduct just a few miles away.

There was a chocolate festival in the town while we were there. For me the most amusing part of it was the sight of what looked like nuts and bolts and various carpentry tools but were in fact chocolate creations. Similarly, there was chocolate made to look like salami and a chocolate doner kebab, while Sicilian marzipan, fashioned into fruit and even imitation ham sandwiches, was also on offer.

We were able to take walks in the magnificent scenery around Valpelline and Cogne (the latter being the entry point to Val Paradiso National Park).
 
Now, since I am busy with work and with Nanowrimo, I haven't time to write any more so here instead here are some pictures!