Taitung County has banned the harvesting of giant clams smaller than 15cm in the waters off Green Island (綠島) and listed the mollusk as a protected species.
The ban also prohibits the harvest of giant clams of any size from the areas around Chaikou (柴口) in the northern part of the island, Shilang (石朗) in the west, and Gueiwan (龜灣) in the island township, one of the nation’s most popular dive sites.
Violators will face a fine ranging from NT$30,000 to NT$150,000.
Photo: CNA, courtesy of the Taitung County Government
Giant clams, dubbed “the beautiful flowers of the sea” by locals for their colorful outer mantles, are the world’s largest bivalve mollusk. Their characteristic vivid colors come from the symbiotic algae that grow on their tissue.
The largest ever found in the corals around Green Island reportedly measured 1.5cm in length. However, local fishermen and diving instructors have noticed a sharp decline in the number of large giant clams.
One local diver recalled that there were visible signs of giant clams as big as 30cm in shallow waters as recently as three or four years ago. Now, he says, he has to dive 20m down to find any bigger than 15cm.
“The only ones left are ‘children’ less than 15cm long,” the diver said, lamenting that the government did not impose a ban earlier.
Giant clams in the wild grow by just 3 or 4cm a year, a county official said.
“It would take more than 30 years [for a giant clam] to grow to 150 centimeters long,” the official added.
The government blames the reduction in population on overharvesting by tourist divers and some locals looking to collect the colorful shells.
In addition to the ban, the county has teamed up with the Fisheries Research Institute under the Council of Agriculture to develop a conservation plan aimed at replenishing the giant clam population.
They are also drawing up plans to set up a marine biology education platform centered on giant clams to turn Green Island into a top spot for ecology education, the government said.
The Switzerland-based International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the giant clam as vulnerable.
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