Can't Find Nemo? Try Stingray

Here's a fashion trend you may or may not want to reel in: stingray chic. Known in the trade as shagreen, stingray skin is making a bit of a splash in the accessory department this season. Cartier is offering a limited-edition shagreen jewelry pouch, and Bill Blass has launched a new line of shagreen-banded watches. "Some customers like [shagreen] because it resembles pave-set gems," says jeweler Stephen Webster, whose eponymous lines — seen on celebs like Pink and Oprah — feature some shagreen items. But does harvesting stingrays for fashion have an environmental impact? Stingrays are not listed under CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. But the stingray look has some experts concerned. "Because they aren't traditional, high-value fish food, sharks, skates and rays are some of the most underprotected fish species in the world," says Sonja Fordham, an international-fisheries specialist with the Ocean Conservancy, a private nonprofit that does science-based advocacy on ocean issues. "In most cases we don't know how their populations are doing. Stingrays are just not as easy to count as cows."