By: Hongkang Zhao

You might imagine that when federal wildlife inspectors search for illegally trafficked animal goods, they’d be on the lookout for elephant ivory, tiger skins, or perhaps poached bird eggs. But other creatures are frequently being seized at American ports of entry, creatures you perhaps would not realize are animals: corals.

Corals, despite their plant-like appearance, are in fact animals: tiny invertebrates that live in oceans, forming the backbone of major coral reefs. Marine life traffickers hammer and chisel them off reefs in places like Indonesia, Fiji, Tonga, Australia or the Caribbean, then pack them into small baggies of seawater so they can be boxed up by the hundreds and shipped around the world. While most coral is shipped into the United States legally, individuals and wholesalers, growing in number, are being intercepted with coral species or quantities that are restricted or banned from trade, often hidden inside shipments containing legal species.

Federal law protects many coral species; 1900 endangered species cannot be traded. When poachers defy these laws, coral can go extinct faster. Between global warming and declining populations, that may mean the death of many reefs, which means loss of many fish habitats and tourist locations.

Not only that, when coral is put in the murky water, it secretes a mucus to protect itself, which increases the pH level of the water, which makes its natural protection system secrete more mucus, which then causes a downward spiral.

In conclusion, coral poaching could cause the extinction of coral throughout the world and the loss of major coral reefs.