reproductivity is seen at higher levels during the months of May to August. Defense/Predation These soft corals have nematocysts and allelochemicals, sclerites and other protective mechanisms that make them rarely predated upon. Along with these defense systems, corals have low nutritional value, therefore making them unpreferable as a choice of food. Overexploitation by Coral Trade Coral fisheries impose detrimental effects on coral colonies within oceans around the world. Before the 1970s, fisheries involved extraction of coral using net attached dredges or small sailboats. However, by the 1970s, fisheries started to stray away from sail boats and began to utilize motorized boats that consisted of metal dredges much longer than those used prior to the 70s. These motorized boats were also capable of carrying much heavier weight aboard thus causing damage to the coral colonies underneath leading to limited a supply of corals. Due to the slow growth period of these corals, they cannot keep up with the rates in which coral harvesting occurs by these fisheries resulting in overexploitation. One area that experienced this decline in fishing yields was the Mediterranean Ocean in the 1980s, and as a result the United Nations soon placed guidelines on coral harvestation and banned dredging for corals in 1994. However, recently data has shown ongoing declining population numbers of the corals, which prompted the EU and the US to include the family Corallidae in the CITES Appendix II in order to regulate its trade. References Scleraxonia Cnidarian families