Some 200 tons of illegally harvested giant clams worth about $25 million were seized in the Philippines, a place that is home to most of the world’s giant tropical clam species.
The Friday capture is reportedly one of the biggest known operations in the country, with conservationists raising alarms of the illicit trade market for the endangered clams, which are used as an ivory substitute for elephant tusks.
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“Taking the giant clams from their natural habitat is a form of intergenerational crime,” Jovic Fabello, a spokesman for the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development, told the Guardian. “It will permanently affect the marine ecosystem, and future generations will be deprived of the benefits accruing from it.”
Palawan, where the raid took place, is in the western part of the Philippines and is considered a poaching hotbed for fish and wildlife.
“These people are digging up giant clams and killing them,” Fabello said.
Giant clamshells have been used for several products, including earrings and chandeliers. Interest in clamshells has risen as world leaders clamp down on wildlife criminals who smuggle endangered animal products such as elephant tusks and crocodile blood.
The clams can grow up to 4.5 feet and weigh up to 550 pounds. The animals host marine algae, which are a basic food source for several fish species.
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Under the Philippines‘ wildlife protection act, a person convicted of killing an endangered species can spend up to 12 years in prison and be ordered to pay fines that are worth millions of dollars.
