Coral Recognition: To Design or Not, part 1

As the hobby evolves through this decade, so will the complexity of naming and owning the right to name corals. This doesn’t mean to rename the Latin form of the coral, but to label it for the marketplace. There are increasing number of businesses who are trying to brand their own products, such as corals, and are adding to the naming problem. Debates are popping up all over the Internet where people are getting sick and tired of the ‘designer’ corals. This is while some are for it to bring out the true distinctions between specimens.

So who gives you the right to name a coral? Doesn’t the coral already have a name? What if someone else renames your coral? What then? Do you sue for infringement? Dilemmas, dilemmas.

So what gives this guy the right so name these corals? He isn’t some diver that found them in the ocean. He is a hobbyist that came up on some rare corals and decided to name them. Doesn’t sound very fair if you ask me.

This is some of the talk around these days, as people are questioning the ethics behind the hobby’s naming rights. Steve Tyree, the most widely known labeler of corals, is a big target for speculators and critics. There are many people who have been in this hobby for longer than some people have been on earth, and Steve is one of them. His reform on the ideology of coral distribution in America has been widely accepted and practised. Most of his work can be found here, where he describes his teachings and methods. Many of his critics claim that he is out to get the top dollar for his corals. By naming corals such as ‘Tyree True Undata’ or ‘LE Tyree Aquatuberculata’, he only wants his name to grow. As that is partially true, some believe that it helps distinguish certain coral morphs from other. Many like species, such as montipora undata, have resonating differences in color. How is one going to track a coral that has spectacular coloration? Some say Steve has provided others with a means to track and trace unique specimens.

There are lots of “named” corals out there. Whether they have value to YOU depends on your perspective. I only purchase aquacultured corals for various reasons. I buy corals based on their coloration not their name. In some cases that means I pay more. But Steve Tyree is not alone in doing this, ORA and many others do it as well.

Could this statement be true? Are other companies following suit just to make more money, or are they trying to develo a track a trace method for their beautiful specimens?

Stay tuned for the next installment of this controversial topic….

Related posts:

1. Coral Recognition: To Design or Not, part 2
2. The Name Game Gone Berserk
3. A Coral In Your Name
4. I’ll Have A Pink Lemonade Please
5. Cold water coral

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