The History, Myth, and Future of the Giant Clam - Despite traditional and modern protections, Palau’s massive mollusks are at risk.


752C5FB6-D86C-44B9-ACCE-3A88ED09A30B.jpeg


The islands of Palau in the western Pacific—hundreds of them, comprising one of the world’s smallest nations—have been inhabited for at least 3,400 years, and from the start, giant clams were a staple of diet, daily life, and even deity. Many of the islands’ oldest surviving tools are crafted of thick giant-​clam shell: arched-​blade adzes, fishhooks, gougers, heavy taro-​root pounders. Giant-​clam shell makes up more than three-​fourths of some of the oldest shell middens in Palau—​a percentage that decreases through the centuries. Archaeologists suggest that the earliest islanders depleted the giant clams that crowded the crystalline shallows, then may have self-​corrected. Ancient Palauan conservation law, known as bul, prohibited fishing during critical spawning periods, or when a species showed signs of overharvesting.


6CD19176-4143-44B9-8943-7FD4B3AAA831.jpeg


In the end the charms were not so lucky for the fishers, crafters, and retailers who depleted the clams and destroyed their habitat. Demand for the figurines sent crews to smash coral reefs with their boat propellers to free up anchored clams, decimating miles of some of Earth’s most biodiverse coral reefs in the South China Sea. International outcry ultimately led Hainan Province to ban trade in giant clams and corals. The Tanmen workshops and retail shops have shuttered en masse. The clams may never recover.


D0035243-CB67-4F27-9D49-C206F4F10C00.jpeg


2AB9701E-EB2D-482C-97D9-66F8533B648D.jpeg


E354200A-FC8B-4288-A0F7-9EDC2A8E2E7F.jpeg


https://www.atlasobscura.com/article...he-sea-excerpt