Shell Horizons Florida Inc , violating our Coral Resources Dev and Conservation Decree?

Look at the massive display of corals exported by Shell Horizons Florida Inc from The Philippines. Shell Horizons, Inc is located in Clearwater, Florida USA
and on the Islands of the Bahamas and Philippines. You mean they have an office here?

Their business goes completely against the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Corals are included

Roughly 5,000 species of animals and 28,000 species of plants are protected by CITES against over-exploitation through international trade. They are listed in the three CITES Appendices. The species are grouped in the Appendices according to how threatened they are by international trade. They include some whole groups, such as primates, cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises), sea turtles, parrots, corals, cacti and orchids. But in some cases only a subspecies or geographically separate population of a species

We have Philippine laws called PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1219 or called “The Coral Resources Development and Conservation Decree.” I understand there is a special permit to only one person/corporation for a limited issue to conduct experimental collection of precious and semi-precious corals.

Shell Horizons Florida Inc. looks like a commercial firm.

Shell Horizons proudly shares that they were chosen to supply the finest quality sea shells for the President, the First Lady, and for our White House in 2007.

It appears to me they may have violated Section 5 of the law.

The gathering, harvesting, collecting, transporting, possession, sale and/or exporting of ordinary corals either in raw or processed form in any quantity, is prohibited. The use of corals as materials in buildings and other man-made structures, such as but not limited to piers, dams and dikes, is likewise prohibited.

Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources has jurisdiction and responsibility in the exploration, exploitation, utilization and conservation of coral resources. They need to check on this.

Corals found at Shell Horizon website

Commercial exploitation is a serious threat to the survival of our country’s reefs and the world, more than half of which are considered at risk because of human activities. A Florida Importer was already sentenced in Landmark Coral Smuggling Case

Leventis’ smuggling activities came to the government’s attention in July 1997 when a 40-foot shipping container loaded with some 400 boxes and packages of coral and sea shells arrived in Tampa. Special agents of the Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Customs Service then documented a six-year series of transactions involving protected corals and seashells between Leventis and Esther Flores, the owner of a Philippine seashell and souvenir exporting business.

In November 1998, Leventis and Flores were indicted on smuggling and wildlife charges. The Justice Department in February 1999 filed papers with the Philippines seeking the extradition of Flores.

Leventis’ Lacey Act and smuggling convictions were tied to the July 1997 shipment to Tampa, as well as an illegal 1993 coral importation.

Not only that, there are US laws to combat trafficking in illegal wildlife, fish and plants, specifically “The Lacey Act”, the oldest wildlife protection statute

How did Shell Horizons Florida Inc get away with this?

Save Philippine corals!

Read Cocoy’s article “Is US based Shell Horizons selling illegal Philippine Corals?” and Tonyo Cruz article.