A SINGLE six-inch giant clam offers fisherfolk and local government officials in Liloan hope they would be able to start their own sanctuary for the large mollusks, which once graced food stalls near the town hall of this town in northern Cebu.
Last Aug. 12, Anita Cordero of the Cantaan Centennial Multipurpose Cooperative (CCMPC) of Camiguin joined fisherfolk in Barangay Poblacion, Liloan in the search for 1,400 giant clams that were placed in the village’s marine sanctuary. The clams were seized in the early 2000 by the Municipal Government during a crackdown on the selling of the protected species.
Anita and sister Alona, who chairs CCMPC, were in Liloan to share their knowledge and experience in protecting giant clams. CCMPC manages a giant clam conservation project in Cantaan, which has become an eco-tourism destination in Camiguin Province.
The Cantaan Giant Clam Conservation Project houses 1,400 adults and 2,600 juveniles clams. The project landed CCMPC among the finalists for the 6th Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. Triennial Awards, held last Aug. 14.
Conditions
Anita, after the search for surviving giant clams off Poblacion in Liloan, said that fisherfolk and local government officials can establish their own giant clam conservation project in the same marine sanctuary.
She said that the salinity of the water is favorable for growing giant clams. She said, though, that local fisherfolk will have to find a spot in the reef that is not vulnerable to wave action.
“There are live corals here and the water has good visibility,” she said in Visayan.
She said that CCMPC is willing to help Liloan folk start a giant clam conservation project. But she stressed that the fisherfolk and the local government must commit time and effort to the endeavor.
Alona, during the Aug. 12 forum, said CCMPC can provide Liloan mother giant clams that can populate the sanctuary.
Rolando Tabuñag, Liloan municipal environment and natural resources officer, said that the local government wants to replicate the Cantaan Giant Clam Conservation Project. He said the Liloan Municipal Government considers coastal resource conservation and fisheries management priorities, which get an annual budget of more than P2 million.
Secure
Liloan Bantay Dagat officials said that the giant clams they placed in the Poblacion marine sanctuary were probably killed by shells and other predators. They said that they did not know how to properly care for the giant clams until they heard Alona’s talk.
Anita said that the giant clams also have to be placed in a secure area in the reef so they would not be washed away by strong waves.
“They must also put the clams near each other so that they can effectively reproduce during the spawning,” she said.
Giant clams form part of a healthy reef. They provide food for fish and other coral reef inhabitants so they are also vital to fisheries.
The Cantaan Giant Clam Conservation Project also provides revenues to CCMPC in the form of fees from visitors.
Alona said that the project collects at least P100,000 a month from visitors’ fees.
But she stressed that caring for juvenile giant clams require commitment.
The baby giant clams have to be cleaned to get rid of algae and barnacles that threaten their survival.
In Cantaan, juvenile clams are placed in tubs or in shallow areas where they can be easily accessed by CCMPC members. Once the mollusks have matured, they are placed in the reef by divers.
Giant clams are the world’s largest immobile mollusks and are anchored to coral reefs in tropical waters. Of the 10 known giant clam species in the world, seven can be found in the Philippines.
Alona said that six of the seven can be found in Cantaan.