Black coral smuggle in the South of the country

Professional divers were reported to be illegally exploiting black coral in the southern seas of Madagascar. Such an activity has long been made illegal, for black corals happen to be endangered species protected by the CITES convention which bans every form of trade based on endangered species. According to intel collected from local sources, experienced divers from the North of Madagascar are leading this illegal operation on black coral in the South. A professor searcher recalled the relevance of black coral in the conservation process for mangroves. The illegal business of black coral is likely to dramatically affect marine ecology and eventually lead to mid term pending extinction risks for several species, including local lobsters. Police forces together with a handful of scientists seized in Faux-Cap and its surrounding areas some forty bottles of oxygen used by the divers, and captured a truck shipping a cargo of black corals. On March 5th, the Androy Region’s officers loudly recalled the ban on the exploitation of black coral, must have however not proved convincing enough to deter the outlaws. The international market courses of black coral actually provide with an incentive much too good to turn down. Exporters are willing to pay up to US$ 300 per kilogram of black coral, whereas simple fishermen merely require US$ 5 to deliver the same quantity. On this account, the black coral undisputedly claims the title of “sea rosewood” on the Great Isle