Stop Coral Harvesting - Australian Marine Conservation Society

7%

$2,246 Raised$30,000 Goal

Join our Stop Coral Harvesting Campaign, friend!

Right now, up to 190 tonnes per year of wild coral is being chipped off the Great Barrier Reef piece by piece for the global aquarium trade.

As an ecosystem facing immense pressure, we need to ensure healthy wild corals are not chipped away for private profit. Some of the healthiest corals are being taken from the wild and exported overseas into the global aquarium trade.

We’re launching a campaign to stop wild coral harvesting and protect our rare and unique corals.

These living corals are struggling to survive the impacts of climate change, damaging cyclones and floods.

Yet this harvest happens inside a World Heritage Area, with little public scrutiny in an ecosystem that has suffered six mass bleaching events in just nine years.

Chip in to help us kick-start the campaign to stop corals being taken from the wild and exported overseas into the global aquarium trade.

All donations over $2 are 100% tax-deductible. Our important campaigns are not funded by Government grants, we are totally reliant on generous people like you to protect Australia’s oceans and the animals that call them home.

What you need to know

Please watch this 70 second animation to quickly highlight the issue:

Corals Chipped Away

Corals are being chipped off the Great Barrier Reef piece by piece with hammers and chisels.

190 tonnes?

Up to 190 tonnes of coral can be harvested from the Reef each year, including rare and brightly coloured species found nowhere else on Earth.

Rare and Exported Away

Most of these wild corals aren’t sold in Australia; they’re exported for the overseas aquarium markets in North America, Europe and Asia.

Poor Information

The Queensland Coral Fishery’s harvest limits are primarily based on historical catch records, rather than on contemporary ecological assessments of coral reef health or sustainability.

Struggling Coral

The very same corals struggling to survive climate change are still being taken from the wild, weakening our Reef’s ability to recover.

Increasing Numbers

The number of pieces of coral taken has increased in recent years.

As a trusted donor and loyal supporter, I am sharing our campaign plans with you today to help kick-start the campaign. Please join me in raising the funds needed to launch and sustain our work in fighting for these corals and our Great Barrier Reef.

🪸 Launch petition and digital mobilisation. Help us drive mass online advocacy.
🪸 Build momentum and mobilise ocean lovers and influencers. Help us reach 100,000 Australians to take action.
🪸 Develop animation and videos to help explain this threat to our corals.
🪸 Investigative photography and video showing the impacts on the corals and Reef.
🪸 Ramp up pressure at World Heritage Committee - send delegates to highlight a global spotlight to raise the pressure to act in Australia.
🪸 Fund our 2025/2026 Summer of Action - we’re ramping up for a big summer of action including: Billboards, Beach Action, citizen science activities and bring these Reef issues to the people.

Donate Today

As a trusted donor and loyal supporter, I am sharing our campaign plans with you today to help kick-start the campaign. Please join me in raising the funds needed to launch and sustain our work in fighting for these corals and our Great Barrier Reef.

We are Australia’s leading national charity dedicated solely to protecting our precious ocean wildlife – a community of ocean lovers across the nation working for healthy seas.

AMCS works on the big issues that risk our ocean wildlife. Together, we have protected critical ocean ecosystems with marine reserves around the nation, including Ningaloo and the Great Barrier Reef. We have led the movement to ban whaling, stopped supertrawlers, and protected threatened and endangered species like the Australian Sea Lion.

When you back AMCS you are backing people, science and action. We are the guardians and voice for marine life.