PRECIOUS CORALS COMMERCIALLY THREATENED Corallium elatius Ridley, 1882 C. japonicum Kishinouye, 1903 C. konojoi Kishinouye, 1903 C. rubrum (Linnaeus, 1758) C. secundum Dana, 18f8 C. sp. nov. Phylum CNIDARIA Class ANTHOZOA Boke, Maguey, Momoiro-marigo Aka-sango, Oxblood Coral Shiro-sango, White Coral Mediterranean or Noble Coral Pink Coral, Angelskin Coral Midway Deep Sea Coral Order GORGONACEA Family CORALLIIDAE SUMMARY The precious corals of the genus Corallium have been highly valued since antiquity as a carving material and for making jewellery. C. rubrum is found in the Mediterranean which, until the 19th century, was the centre of the coral trade. Overfishing of Mediterranean stocks combined with the discovery of Corallium species off Japan, Taiwan and eastwards to the Hawaiian Archipelago, resulted in Pacific corals becoming increasingly important on the world market in the late 19th and 20th centuries. Precious corals are slow-growing and tend to occur in small, easily exploitable beds which makes them very vulnerable to over-collection, and there is concern that the Pacific stocks could become as depleted as those in the Mediterranean. Management of the fishery should be possible using quotas, limited fishing areas and selective fishing gear. A management plan is being implemented for the Western Pacific and further research is needed to provide base-line data for similar plans for other areas. DESCRIPTION Precious corals grow as plant-like, branching colonies, with the main stem firmly attached to a hard surface by a holdfast or base. The stem consists of cemented calcareous spicules which form a hard skeleton that can be used as a carving material. Colours vary from white to dark red and are specific to localities and species. C. japonicum is red; C. elatius is pink to dark pink; C. konojoi is white; C. secundum is pink to white; C. sp. nov. is light pink with darker spots (12). C. rubrum varies in colour from pink to shades of dark red (8); colonies in the region of Marseille are predominantly red (28). Colonies of the largest Pacific species may reach 1 m in height, but C. rubrum grows to only about 25-50 cm (lf) and in the region of Marseille most colonies are 8-15 cm in height (28). Twenty species of Corallium have been described but only six of these are of commercial importance. The Midway Deep Sea Coral was discovered in 1978, and has yet to be described but appears to be a new species. The Japanese and Taiwanese recognize a further variety in the Pacific but this has not been identified as a valid species (12). DISTRIBUTION In the Pacific, four major areas have been located as coral producing regions, all north of 22N. C. secundum and the Midway Deep Sea Coral are found in the Hawaiian Archipelago including Emperor Seamounts, and their range extends as far north as 36N. C. secundum is found as far south as Hawaii (19N); the southern limit of Midway Deep Sea Coral is unknown but it has been harvested from Hancock Seamount (30° N). C. japonicum and C. konojoi are found in the Ogaswara-gunto (Bonin) Is, from Japan south to about 25N. A third area covers the Continental Shelf and offshore islands south-west of Japan (35N) to Okinawa, where C. japonicum C. konojoi and C. elatius is found. C. elatius is found from Okinawa south to the Philippines (12,16,36). A systematic search for precious corals, especially Corallium spp. has been carried out in the South Pacific under the auspices of CCOPSPAC (Committee for Co-ordination of Joint Prospecting for Mineral Resources in South Pacific 35