The Exploitation and Conservation of Precious Corals *

Tsounis, Georgios; Rossi, Sergio; Grigg, Richard W.; Santangelo, Giovanni; Bramanti, Lorenzo; Gili, Josep-Marı́a

doi:10.1201/ebk1439821169-3

Cited by 78 publications

(96 citation statements)

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“…The precious red coral Corallium rubrum is a structural octocoral of a highly diverse coralligenous assemblage of the Mediterranean Sea and also possesses important cultural and economic value. Due to historical overexploitation, most shallow populations of C. rubrum can be considered functionally impaired and many are ecologically extinct (Bruckner 2009;Tsounis et al 2010). To reverse this situation, an international agreement urged Mediterranean countries to strengthen their C. rubrum fishery regulations during the last decade (Cau et al 2013).…”

Section: Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accounting for Life‐History Strategies and Timescales in Marine Restoration

Montero‐Serra

Garrabou

Doak

et al. 2017

CONSERVATION LETTERS

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Understanding the drivers of restoration success is a central issue for marine conservation. Here, we explore the role of life-history strategies of sessile marine species in shaping restoration outcomes and their associated timescales. A transplantation experiment for the extremely slow-growing and threatened octocoral Corallium rubrum was highly successful over a relatively short term due to high survival and reproductive potential of the transplanted colonies. However, demographic projections predict that from 30 to 40 years may be required for fully functional C. rubrum populations to develop. More broadly, a comprehensive meta-analysis revealed a negative correlation between survival after transplanting and growth rates among sessile species. As a result, simulated dynamics for a range of marine sessile invertebrates predict that longer recovery times are positively associated with survival rates. These results demonstrate a tradeoff between initial transplantation efforts and the speed of recovery. Transplantation of slow-growing species will tend to require lower initial effort due to higher survival after transplanting, but the period required to fully recover habitat complexity will tend to be far longer. This study highlights the important role of life history as a driver of marine restoration outcomes and shows how demographic knowledge and modeling tools can help managers to anticipate the dynamics and timescales of restored populations.

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Section: Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Accounting for Life‐History Strategies and Timescales in Marine Restoration

Montero‐Serra

Garrabou

Doak

et al. 2017

CONSERVATION LETTERS

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“…Deep-water corals are ecosystem engineers that slowly modify the benthic environment into a unique habitat (Roberts et al 2006, Parrish & Baco 2007, Long & Baco 2014. The branching skeletal morphology of colonies provides additional structure and complexity to the seafloor, which is integral to supporting increased biodiversity (Grigg 1993, Parrish 2006, Waddell & Clarke 2008, Tsounis et al 2010. In Hawai'i, USA, higher fish densities co-occur in envi-ronments associated with deep-water corals (Parrish 2006), with fish often using coral branches as shelter (Boland & Parrish 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Deep-water corals are also a source of raw material for the jewelry trade (Roberts et al 2006, Born et al 2010, Tsounis et al 2010. Exploited for centuries in the Mediterranean Sea and across the Pacific Ocean (Grigg 2002, Tsounis et al 2010, harvested species of deep-water coral are currently among the most valuable living marine resource in terms of unit price, grossing between US$3000 and $16 000 kg −1 (Grigg 1993, Tsounis et al 2010. The high value and demand for these corals have sustained active coral fi sh eries globally for decades, impacting coral populations and associated organisms (Roberts 2002, Grigg 2004, Tsounis et al 2006.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Structure and development of Hawaiian deep-water coral communities on Mauna Loa lava flows

Putts¹,

Parrish²,

Trusdell³

et al. 2019

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Submarine lava flows on the leeward flank of the Island of Hawai'i, USA, were examined by submersible and remotely operated vehicles to understand the structure and development of deep-water coral communities. Three sites were selected where historically documented lava flows crossed older prehistoric flows, providing 3 pairs of lava substrates of different ages (61/ 400 yr, 134/2000 yr, 143/2330 yr) to compare and contrast with a nearby older coral community (15 000 yr) growing on fossil carbonate. The number of coral taxa, abundance, and colony size increased with substrate age on the 3 historical lava flows and fossil carbonate site, but not on the prehistoric flows. The faster-growing Coralliidae were the dominant taxa forming patches on the peaks of ridged terrain, while the slower-growing Antipatharia and Isididae were less abundant except at the fossil site where the community was dominated by the slowest-growing corals (including Kulamanamana haumeaae). A multivariate analysis of similarity of coral communities on lava flows found site, rather than substrate age, to be a better explanation for why paired flows were ecologically the same despite considerable age differences. The data suggest that hot, turbid, mineral-rich water from the more recent historical lava event re-initialized the community succession of the adjacent prehistoric lava substrate. Coral mortality would be greatest close to the edge of the historical flow with the expectation that survivorship would increase with distance from the impact. The survey transects were too short to detect a significant increase in the total coral community, but an increase was evident for the Coralliidae.

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“…In the Mediterranean Sea, the precious red coral ( Corallium rubrum L. 1758; Octocorallia, Alcyonacea, Scleraxonia, Corallidae) has been exploited for many centuries and continues to be so: the main commercial banks have been reported up to 200 m depth in Sardinian and Sicilian waters as well as in Costa Brava, Alboran Sea and along the northern African coasts, from Morocco to Tunisia (Tsounis et al, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The history of the Mediterranean red coral fishing gears dates back to ancient times. From the first Greek fishermen using iron hooks during free dives (Tsounis et al, ) to the Sardinian fishermen using lead rings to facilitate their descent (Pedoni, ). With the increasing commercial interest in this resource, however, faster and more profitable gears used from boats and therefore on offshore banks, were needed for red coral fishing.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Illegal ingegno fishery and conservation of deep red coral banks in the Sicily Channel (Mediterranean Sea)

Cattaneo‐Vietti

Bavestrello

et al. 2017

Aquatic Conservation

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1. Recent ROV surveys conducted on the Ragusa bank in the Sicily Channel (Mediterranean Sea) documented illegal and continuous use of the 'ingegno' gear for red coral fishing. 2. Three lost gears were recorded showing different levels of epibiosis thus supporting multiannual exploitation of the bank. 3. The red coral population of the Ragusa bank showed a typical 'forest-like' configuration with upright, medium-sized colonies similar to those of other commercially exploited deep Mediterranean banks.4. The direct negative effect of this trawling gear was evident from numerous rocky boulders completely enveloped by lost nets and occasionally turned over. Red coral fragments as well as fragments of 'ingegno' nets were observed in high abundance on the sea floor. This evidence suggests that this gear is highly destructive even on rough sea floors, contrary to the traditional view, which is that it has a more random impact on rough rocky bottoms. 5. The estimated coral uptake of 'ingegno' is 45% of the total coral biomass, while the estimated coral loss, in terms of fragments, is 9%, demonstrating the high impact of this gear.6. The study highlighted the infringement of the red coral fishing ban by trawling gears as well as a lack of effective policing. The strengthening of controls on landings at nearby harbours, and education programmes for the local maritime communities are among the management actions proposed to protect these surviving red coral populations from the ongoing illegal fishing activity.

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The Exploitation and Conservation of Precious Corals *

Cited by 78 publications

References 0 publications

Accounting for Life‐History Strategies and Timescales in Marine Restoration

Accounting for Life‐History Strategies and Timescales in Marine Restoration

Structure and development of Hawaiian deep-water coral communities on Mauna Loa lava flows

Illegal ingegno fishery and conservation of deep red coral banks in the Sicily Channel (Mediterranean Sea)

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