IT WAS easier to change the title to "Swimming with Tridacna" but I had to be honest, I didn't take a dip in the waters. Plus, you may be wondering what in tridacna are we talking about.
Tridacna is a genus of large saltwater clams, marine bivalve mollusks in the subfamily Tridacninae, the giant clams. Unfortunately, the global conservation status is listed as Vulnerable in the 2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. All species of giant clams are listed in CITES (Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna). In the Philippines, it is locally known as "taklobo."
The Davao del Norte State College (DNSC) in Panabo City was awarded the 2010 Ched (Commission on Higher Education) Best Regional Extension Award for its biodiversity and environment project, "Development Interventions in the Island Garden of Samal", which revolves around livelihood, cooperatives and harnessing community involvement in marine and environment protection. A program component is a Ched-funded project on the Conservation of the Endangered Giant Clams: A Strategy for Environmental Protection under Save Our Shore (SOS) Program.
The University of the Philippines-Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI) is distributing hatchery-produced giant clam juveniles to various parts of the Philippines in efforts to save and enhance the stocks of this endangered species. As a recipient of the UP-MSI Giant Clam Stock Enhancement Program in 2001, DNSC in collaboration with UP MSI has successfully protected 5 species of endangered giant clams and other marine species, making the Marine Reserved Park a home of more than 3,000 giant clams. It is identified as one of the learning and tourist sites in the Island Garden City of Samal (Igacos).
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