Government agents seized 168 sacks of black corals worth P15 million
The Palace on Thursday called on the public to boycott jewelry houses that sell products made from black coral, which is disappearing as a result of poaching.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said not patronizing such pieces of jewelry would help save the biodiversity of Philippine seas.
We need greater scrutiny of the trade in black corals so that Philippine authorities can work with their counterparts in other places, Lacierda said.
As in other environmental protection efforts, where biodiversity is threatened, an essential element in the effort is to educate the public to do its part not to make plunder pay off for poachers.
Customs officials intercepted 21,169 black corrals two weeks ago.
The crime has been described as the rape of the ocean, with poachers decimating an entire reef complex, almost twice the size of Manila, off the coast of Cotabato province.
Customs Commissioner Angelito Alvarez estimated the seized contraband had a market value of at least P35 million.
The poachers also killed 161 endangered turtles.
We call on local government units to refer to and implement the guidebook on Coral Reef Protection issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources last year, Lacierda said.
Earlier this week, government agents seized 168 sacks of black corals worth P15 million, which were believed to have been illegally shipped to Cebu from Manila.
Customs Enforcement Security Service director Nestorio Gualberto said he ordered his men to determine if the contraband was connected to the shipment of sea turtles, black corals and other marine resources earlier seized by the bureau.
Gualberto said they received information that the contraband would be in a shipment of scrap metal arriving in Cebu on May 19 on board the ship M/V Lorcon Manila owned by Lorenzo Shipping Corp. The consignee, a junk shop, was found to be fictitious.
Gualberto said they seized the shipment for violating the Philippine Fisheries Code of 1998, which bans the exploitation and exportation of corals. Violators face six months to two years of imprisonment and a fine of P2,000 to P20,000 or both.
Customs agents impounded two 20-foot container vans from Cotabato that arrived at the Eva Macapagal Terminal in the South Harbor on May 1.
The containers were filled with 161 sea turtles, 21,000 pieces of black corals, and more than 7,300 pieces of seashells and 196 kilograms of sea whips.
There is a global prohibition on the collection and harvesting of black coral as it is listed in the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora as threatened and endangered.
The bureau said the turtles and corals might have been smuggled mainly to serve as decorative items in homes and restaurants.
The black corals provide food to some organisms within the coral reefs and serve as shelter for other organisms. But those may also be fashioned into jewelry.
Customs officials say the illegal trade in black corals is being fueled by the demand for exotic decorative species and the increasing popularity of coral-accented jewelry and fashion accessories.
Source: Manila Standard Today