Giant Clams Make a Comeback

BOLINAO - Marine biologist Suzanne Licuanan leans over the side of her battered blue and white motor boat to collect another bag of her precious cargo -- giant clam sperm. Holding up the bag containing eight litres (14 pints) of the cloudy liquid, she says: "It looks like buko (coconut) juice, doesn't it."

The world's largest shell fish weighing up to 230 kilos (507 pounds) and measuring up to 1.4 meters (4.5 feet) in length, the Tridacna gigas was once a common sight in waters around the Philippine islands.Highly prized for its meat and decorative shell the giant clam had virtually disappeared from the Philippines, fished out by local and foreign fishermen.

Shocked by the depletion of giant clam stocks marine biologist Edgardo Gomez decided to do something about it.

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Also enjoy reading about pearls from the Tridacna Gigas mollusk here.

More giant pearls here.