Author: Josie Garthwaite
Source: The New York Times (blog) [1]
December 17, 2012

In the international trade in live coral, most of which ships to the United States for ornamental marine aquariums, the source is quickly shifting from wild harvesting to farming, researchers report in a new study.

This shift suggests that, contrary to the conventional view that the live coral trade is a threat to coral reef ecosystems, the buying and selling of corals could help create a powerful incentive for protecting reefs in many small island communities, these scientists say.

“The difference in a year is staggering,” said the study’s lead author, Andrew Rhyne, an assistant professor of marine biology at Roger Williams University and a research scientist at the New England Aquarium.

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