Source: The Herald Tribune
March 14, 2010

Torre del Greco, Italy - The people of this city 10 miles south of Naples have lived off the red coral found in the Mediterranean Sea for more than two millennia. A proposal to list the species as endangered may push the seaside town's $217 million-a-year coral industry into extinction.

The U.S., the largest consumer of corals for use in decoration and jewelry, is proposing that all 31 species of red and pink coral be added to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, treaty at a meeting that began Saturday in Doha, Qatar. The European Union, of which Italy is a member, backed the plan Wednesday while asking for an 18-month delay in implementation.

"We've survived world wars, economic crises and anything God and Mount Vesuvius have thrown at us, but this will kill us," said Antonino de Simone, whose family has been fashioning brooches, rings and necklaces out of coral since 1830. He fears he will have to let go of his 25 employees and close shop.

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