His Excellency, Ambassador Anare Jale
Embassy of Fiji / Washington, D.C.

Honorable Minister A. Konisi Yabaki
Fiji Ministry of Fisheries and Forests / Suva, Fiji

Honorable Ambassador Jale and Minister Yabaki,

We, the undersigned friends of coral reefs, respectfully yet strongly request that the Fiji government act to protect its coral reefs by immediately putting a halt to the collection of live coral rock on Fiji's coral reefs.

Live rock is coral rubble or reef outcroppings with attached marine life. Fifteen years ago, "reef" aquariums started using live rock to establish a "reef" profile on the bottom of the aquarium. A modest 60-gallon "reef" aquarium requires 120 pounds of this coral substrate. But collected live rock cannot be replenished, and its continued collection seriously disrupts -- and even destroys -- entire reef microcommunities.

This is why the taking of live rock is now prohibited in all U.S. coral reef waters. But the American aquarium trade has shifted its supply source to Fiji -- and now you can find Fiji live rock and coral in thousands upon thousands of U.S. aquarium shops.

This is wrong! American public opinion and conservation policy didn't get live rock collection banned throughout the U.S., just so that this terrible practice would be inflicted instead on Fiji's coral reefs.

Reef-building corals take decades to produce live rock and hundreds of years to create reefs. It is very unlikely that coral or live rock removed from the reef system will be replenished in our children's -- or even our grandchildren's -- lifetime. This makes coral and live rock collection a non-replenishable and unsustainable activity. It is far too damaging to reefs and destroys valuable habitat for many other reef creatures.

For all these reasons, we ask that the Fiji Government put a stop to the collection of hard coral and live rock on Fiji's coral reefs.

Respectfully submitted,