The importance of giant clam fisheries management and trade to the Pacific [presented at the] Regional Management of Sustainable Fisheries for Giant Clams (Tridacnidae) and CITES Capacity Building workshop, Nadi, Fiji Islands (4th - 7th August, 2009)

Abstract

There is a long traditional history of giant clam use in the Pacific, where they are an important source of food. They have also found much wider utility as a raw material for tools, containers and ornaments. During the 1960-1980s, there was a sharp increase in the illegal entry of foreign fishers, mostly Taiwanese fishing vessels. This activity reached its peak in the mid-1970s and then subsided in the face of strong international pressures over depleted stocks, and improved surveillance of reef areas. Giant clams are used commercially as aquarium specimens, seafood, including sashimi, shells and shell craft (especially the genus Hippopus). The majority of international trade is in giant clam adductor muscle and shells. The adductor muscle tissue is highly prized by Chinese gastronomes for its purported aphrodisiac properties.