I recently ran into a person from the US that makes jewelry out of Belizean Black Coral. When I inquired about where she gets the materials she said she has divers on fishing boats that bring it to her. This is illegal correct? Is there a law against selling it or just harvesting it?

Can someone point me in the right direction for the environmental laws and consequences of this so that I can clue her in too. Thanks

It's only illegal if you don't have a license.

I believe it may be illegal to bring it back into the US...similar to ivory. It is interantionally protected under CITES but Belize may not be a signatory.

An excerpt from a USFWS bulletin, the reference is toward the bottom of the page:

http://www.globaltigerinitiative.or...l-Investigative-Highlights-2006-2010.pdf