Giant clams under threat as poachers target Philippine, Indonesian waters after China ban

Demand for the massive molluscs – often over a metre wide – has surged in tandem with stricter global controls on ivory

Southeast Asia’s waters have been further targeted by poachers since Beijing banned harvesting giant claims in its own seas in 2015

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A diver seen with a giant clam in the shallows of the Raja Ampat archipelago in Indonesia. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 8:22pm, 26 Apr 2023Updated: 8:34pm, 26 Apr 2023

Giant clams, which can weigh up to 200kg and live for more than a century, face an existential threat from illegal poaching – and very likely organised crime – which has spiked in the last few years across Philippine and Indonesian waters, conservationists have warned.

Demand for the molluscs – often over a metre wide – has surged in tandem with stricter global controls on ivory, with the visual similarity of the massive clam making it sought-after by China’s carving industry.

And the giant clam, often misunderstood and even at times inaccurately known as a man-eating creature, is often considered a delicacy, including in Japan and France.

With this multitude of human threats, in some coral reefs giant clams have already disappeared. And they are easy targets as, once attached to reefs, rocks, or other steady surfaces, they sit in the same spot, until they die.

A report by TRAFFIC found the Philippines and Indonesia accounted for more than 84 per cent of the 7,682 giant clam shells seized between 2003 and 2022 that implicated Southeast Asia. Photo: Handout

Southeast Asia’s waters have been further targeted by poachers from various places, including China, since Beijing banned harvesting giant claims in its own seas in 2015.