Teresa Cerojano
Source: The Associated Press
June 3, 2011

Manila, Philippines - "Philippine officials filed criminal charges Friday over a huge shipment of endangered sea turtles and rare black corals whose seizure raised alarm that the archipelago's rich marine life is being devastated by illegal trade.

The cargo worth more than $800,000 was seized by customs officials at a Manila port last month and included 21,169 pieces of black corals as tall as shrubs.

Their sheer number suggests illegal traders had to destroy at least 73 square miles (190 square kilometers) of coral reef—almost five times the size of the Philippine capital, Manila, said Mundita Lim, chief of the Protected Areas and Wildlife Bureau."

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