Why Coral Jewelry Makes a Bad Gift

The necklace in the display case was once an animal. Corals are living creatures that eat, grow and reproduce, and they take decades or longer to build reef structures. Yet they are sold as souvenirs, home decor and jewelry — and demand, which rises every holiday season, is one of the pressures pushing coral reefs into decline.

A close-up of living coral. Credit: NOAA.

A gift from a system already in trouble

Many shoppers do not realize that these structures are made by living things, and fewer know that corals are dying off at alarming rates around the world. Coral reefs are among the most biologically rich and economically valuable ecosystems on Earth, and they face a growing list of threats, above all global climate change, unsustainable fishing and pollution. Consumer demand adds to that list.

Each year the U.S. imports tons of dead coral for decorations and curios, most of it from shallow-water species.

The trade in red and pink coral

The U.S. is also the world's largest documented consumer of Corallium — the red and pink corals often made into jewelry. A finished piece of jewelry or art made from them can sell for anywhere from $20 to $20,000.

Commercial harvesting to meet that demand has changed Corallium in the wild:

• colonies are smaller, sparser and younger than they were
• the species reproduces less successfully
• its genetic diversity is falling
• research indicates the corals left in the wild keep getting smaller

Why harvested coral does not come back

Corals grow very slowly, live a very long time and take years to reach maturity. When coral is harvested — especially young — the coral beds around it often do not recover. The best place for corals and other marine life is on the reef. As NOAA puts it: corals are already a gift, so don't give them as presents.

Sources

Based on "Does coral jewelry make a good gift?" from NOAA's National Ocean Service, a work of the United States government in the public domain.