Cadiz mourns loss of 33 giant clams

 

The Cadiz City government said it is “mourning” the loss of 33 giant clams taken from its protected marine sanctuary near Lakawon Island.

City officials said the clams were forcibly removed from the Giant Clam Village in Barangay Cadiz Viejo, a marine conservation area located beside Lakawon Island.

The 33 clams were part of the 2,449 giant clams thriving within the city’s 9.2-hectare Giant Clam Village, which has been declared a protected marine area by the local government.

The giant clams are classified as protected species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Authorities said unidentified poachers extracted the clams, tortured them, and shucked their meat before abandoning the empty shells at the site.

The incident was discovered accidentally on Christmas Day, Dec. 25.

Mayor Salvador Escalante Jr. described the act as “environmental terrorism,” calling it an attack on the city’s flagship marine conservation initiative.

Aside from offering a PHP 20,000 cash reward for information leading to the arrest and prosecution of the suspects, Escalante vowed that such an incident would not happen again in Cadiz.

“You gave us the hardest lesson. We will give you the hardest retribution just in case,” Escalante warned the perpetrators.

Under Republic Act No. 10654, or the amended Philippine Fisheries Code, anyone found guilty of poaching or killing protected marine species faces criminal liability and fines ranging from PHP 300,000 to PHP 3 million.

The city’s giant clam conservation effort began during the COVID-19 pandemic, when Hereliza “Yhen” Osorio, then a staff member at Lakawon Island Resort, discovered three juvenile giant clams along the shoreline.

Out of curiosity, Osorio kept the clams in a small glass container and cared for them during the lockdown period.

Her discovery later gained the support of the city agriculture office, leading to the formal launch of Cadiz’s giant clam conservation program in 2021, with Osorio serving as lead caretaker and conservationist.

Four years later, the initiative expanded significantly, with Osorio supervising the broadcast spawning and reproduction of the clams, which now number more than 2,000.

At present, the Giant Clam Village is home to four species: Tridacna squamosa, Tridacna crosea, Hippopus hippopus, and Tridacna maxima.

In the Philippines, established giant clam conservation areas are found in Samal Island in Davao del Norte; Silaki Island in Bolinao, Pangasinan; Binduyan and Ulugan in Palawan; Sinandigan in Ubay, Bohol; Sitangkai in Tawi-Tawi; and Cadiz Viejo in Cadiz City.

Escalante said the loss of the 33 clams was deeply painful for the city.

“It really pained me knowing the news. It came as a bad Christmas gift for Cadiz. I can’t imagine why others still have an obnoxious desire to become sea criminals, casting ill will against these ‘sea treasures’ of ours,” he said.

The mayor said stricter security measures have been put in place and that the Giant Clam Village will now be guarded round-the-clock by the city’s sea wardens, known as Bantay Dagat.

Escalante said authorities are currently validating information on possible suspects.

“We will check the veracity of the information we’ve got as we need to be exact in naming them,” he said.

“Once we positively identify them, we will never hesitate to file the necessary criminal charges to let them pay for the crime they committed against our environment,” Escalante added.