Growing demand for live coral in China incentivises smuggling

There are more than 800 species of stony reef-building corals in the world, and close to half are threatened with extinction. In 2024, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed 56 species of stony coral as vulnerable, 251 as endangered, and 33 as critically endangered. The main reasons for coral loss are bleaching caused by rising ocean temperatures, as well as pollution and physical destruction by humans, but illegal collection of live coral for aquaria can now also be added to the list of threats to corals.

While the United States have long been the main market for live coral, there is increasing evidence that the demand in the aquarium trade in China is making it a major destination for illegally harvested live coral. To better understand the current situation, the Species Victim Statements Initiative (SVIS) and the Swire Institute of Marine Science (SWIMS) analysed media reports and criminal prosecution records involving live coral smuggling into Mainland China and Hong Kong SAR.

Our analysis suggests that the flow of live coral into Mainland China is considerable, follows established wildlife smuggling networks and involves multiple points of entry into the country. All stony corals are grade-II nationally protected species in China, and therefore cannot be possessed, sold or transported without a permit. However, stony corals are advertised openly by dealers on Chinese social media and on-line trading platforms without any mention of the need for permits.

Stony corals on sale on an ornamental fish market in China. Image: the SVIS Initiative

The role of Hong Kong

Three recent reports of seizures of corals smuggled into Mainland China from Hong Kong have been widely shared on social media in China.

In June 2025, a group of fourteen people was detained at Luohu border crossing when entering Mainland China from Hong Kong. The group attempted to smuggle 593 fragments of live coral. The corals, packed into plastic bags, were carried in pockets and were also taped to the bodies of smugglers. The detained claimed that they had been hired to take the contraband across the border.

In early April 2025, four people were arrested at Huanggang border crossing after entering Mainland China from Hong Kong into Shenzhen. The official WeChat account of China Customs stated that the “bloated appearance” and “nervous expressions” of smugglers alerted custom officers to their crime. During a search, 19 plastic bags, taped to the chest, waist and legs of the suspects, were discovered. The bags contained 161 fragments of live coral. From the images provided, the seized corals appear to belong to the genera Scolymia and Euphyllia, both popular with hobbyists. The WeChat post ends with a remainder to the public that stony corals are both CITES-listed and grade-II nationally protected animals in China, making their possession and transportation illegal without the necessary permits.

Also in April 2025, at Shenzhen’s Liantang border crossing, which connects Mainland China with Hong Kong, a smuggler was arrested on the Mainland side after 46 fragments of live coral were discovered in bags stuffed in pockets and socks.

Live corals are also intercepted on the Hong Kong side of the border. In July 2022 live corals, fish and other foods worth 1.5 million HKD were seized from a boat in Hong Kong waters heading for Mainland China. In 2021, over 100 bags of live coral were seized from another boat in similar circumstances.

The South East Asia connection

Hong Kong is not the only point of entry of live coral shipments into Mainland China. Shanghai, Beijing and Guangxi Autonomous Region appear in Chinese prosecution records as entry points of illegal live coral shipments. Vietnam appears to be one of the main sources of live coral, from where it is smuggled into the neighbouring Guangxi where Fangchenggang city is a known major illegal wildlife trade hub. A wide range of wildlife contraband is smuggled from Vietnam into China through the nearby porous land border and via maritime routes.

Legal imports of aquarium fish and other wildlife are also used to illegally bring live coral into China. In December 2024, customs officers in Shanghai Pudong International Airport discovered 426 fragments of live coral concealed in a declared shipment of live sea anemones. Similarly, in 2023, a businessman dealing with sea aquaria was sentenced (case number (2023)津03刑初16号 ) in the city of Tianjin for smuggling of endangered species. He had arranged a legal shipment of live fish to Beijing from the Philippines, where his accomplices fitted the crates with concealed compartments in which they packed 3,000 illegal live stony corals. The court estimated the value of the corals at almost 60,000 US dollars. The smuggler received a 3 year sentence of imprisonment, suspended for 4 years, and a fine of 300,000 yuan. In a similar case, also tried in Tianjin (case number: (2023)津03刑初26号) an employee of a company working with sea aquaria brought in live coral from Indonesia and Vietnam. The coral from Indonesia was concealed in legal shipments of aquarium fish, while the ones from Vietnam were smuggled into China via the city of Dongxing in Guangxi, transported to Guangdong Province and then to Tianjin. The defendant received a one year suspended sentence and a 70,000 yuan fine.  

The scale of the market

It is not clear how big the market for live coral in China is, as no reliable statistics exist, but considering the scale of pet and aquarium trades in China, it is reasonable to extrapolate that the coral trade is large. The pet trade in China has been estimated at over 10 billion yuan annually, and breeding ornamental fish is a millennia-long tradition in the country. Marine aquarium trade has also been growing. According to one study, the volume of imports of wild-caught marine aquarium fish in China grew from about 250,000 USD per year in 2012 to almost 3 million in 2017 (Su et al., 2021).

The legal imports of live coral into China have also been growing rapidly. According to the CITES database, 1,113,613 units of live coral, from 192 species, have been imported into China since records began in 1999 (Fig.1).

Fig. 1. Imports of live coral to China. Colours represent different taxa. (Source: CITES).

China is now catching up with the US, the world’s leading importer, in the amount of coral legally imported annually. In last 10 years the USA imported more than 9 million units of live coral, exceeding the entire recorded imports to China, but in 2023, the gap narrowed  – the US imported 360,000 units and China just over 200,000.

A thriving trade

Live stony corals are widely advertised for sale on Chinese social media and on-line trading platforms such as Taobao. Social media accounts of coral dealers showcase large coral growing facilities, feature introductions to different coral species and tutorials on how to look after the corals in aquaria. The provenance of these advertised corals is unknown, but considering the slow growth rate of coral, it is likely that at least some of the stock comes from the wild. None of the videos and posts reviewed showed that the dealers had permits to possess or sell the corals advertised, and none warned potential buyers that such permits were required.

It seems that, apart from the enforcement efforts of customs who make regular seizures at the country’s borders, live coral trade in Mainland China remains under the radar of local authorities, inciting illegal trading.

On a positive note, Hong Kong Customs announced in early 2024 that after lengthy financial investigations of the bank accounts of one of the men on board the Hong Kong boat intercepted in 2022 carrying corals and seafood to Mainland China, 700 suspicious transactions involving 7.5 million HKD had been detected and the man has been charged with money laundering under Hong Kong’s Organised and Serious Crimes Ordinance. This is the first time Hong Kong authorities have been able to link wildlife smuggling with organised crime. The trial will take place later this year, and the Species Victim Impact Initiative will report the outcome.  

References

Zhixing SU, Yanfeng YUE, Keji JIANG, Shiming PENG, Zhaohong SHI. 2021. Research status of marine ornamental fish industry at home and abroad. South China Fisheries Science, 17(1): 101-112. doi: 10.12131/20200156