How is Sango coral harvested?

Harvesting Sango coral respects, protects and even enhances the living ecosystem of the reefs. How do we do it?
■ IDEAL SEA DEPTH: Corals thrive in shallow waters where the sun still reaches the sea floor. In Okinawa, corals live at depths of up to 30 meters. We only collect coral grains at depths greater than 60 meters - where no living corals grow.
■ SAFE DISTANCE FROM THE REEF: Okinawa's reefs extend to about 500 meters offshore, where the depth is constant at about 30 meters. After 500 meters, the sea floor suddenly drops to a depth of 50 meters. The government allows coral harvesting in this area. But to be safe, we go beyond 1000 meters from the shore.
■ GENTLE STIRRING OF CORAL GRAINS: Our pumps, which touch the sea floor, extract coral grains with minimal agitation. This agitation stirs up the coral deposits on the sea floor and actually releases some nutrients back into the ecosystem. Ocean currents carry these nutrients to the marine life and potentially back to the living reef.