With finished necklaces retailing for up to 25,000 dollars (18,000 euros), red and pink coral is among the world's most expensive wildlife commodities.

A proposal to list the deep-water, reef-forming organism under Appendix II of the Conference on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), meeting in Doha until Thursday, would require nations to track exports and show that coral is extracted sustainably.

Co-sponsored by the United States and the European Union, the move is opposed by Japan, which last week lobbied successfully to shoot down a bid to ban trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna.

The new measure targets seven species in the Coralliidae family, one growing in the Mediterranean and the others in the western Pacific, including Hawaii.

It would also cover another 24 so-called "look-alike" species to prevent accidental harvesting.

"Some 30-50 metric tons of Coralliidae are harvested annually from the Mediterranean and the Pacific to meet consumer demand," said Kristian Teleki, a marine biologist at Sea Web, a conservation group.

Destructive fishing methods and over-harvesting have reduced worldwide catches by at least 85 percent in the past three decades, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation.

"We need to think in terms of the cautionary principle. The harvesting is happening at such a rate, it is simply not sustainable when you look at the ecology of these organisms," said Teleki.

The species take 100 years to reach maturity, but newly discovered beds are often exploited beyond the capacity to reproduce within a couple of years.

Unable to source enough coral from the Mediterranean, Italian artisans -- centred in Torre del Greco -- now get 70 to 80 percent of their raw material from Taiwan, Japan and other sources in the Pacific, according to a 2004 study.

Three years ago, a nearly identical proposal came before CITES at its last meeting.

At that time, the Appendix II listing was initially approved, only to be overturned during the final minutes of the 12-day meeting in a secret ballot.

"Italy and some Italian dealers used strong-arm tactics on small countries, saying 'we won't buy your products, we won't trade with you'," said Sue Lieberman, policy director for the Pew Environment Group in Washington.

"But I am more optimistic this time," she said. "The EU is a co-sponsor, so the Italian government is not allowed to work against the proposal."

Also, she added, many north African nations that opposed the listing in 2007 have come around to supporting the listing.

Opponents argue that CITES is not the right tool for overseeing high-value trade in commercial marine species, which figure more prominently on the agenda than ever before. Tuna and shark harvests bring in billions.

They also point out that none of the species up for protection is on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List of threatened species, and fear the impact on business.

"The livelihoods of many artisan families will be disrupted due to the bureaucracy involved and because the customers will have the feeling that buying coral jewellery is not ecologically friendly," said Marco Pani of IWMC World Conservation Union, a lobby group.

The debate on Sunday could go straight to a vote, or CITES could decide to form a working group to hammer out a compromise deal, delegates said.

"Either way, it is going to be close," said Julia Roberson of Sea Web.

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