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Article: The art of growing giants. (giant clams)
- Article from:
- National Wildlife
- Article date:
- October 1, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 National Wildlife Federation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The giant clams inhabiting the remote Palauan reef were sitting ducks. In a matter of days, divers from a Taiwanese fishing boat illegally uprooted nearly 15,000 of the creatures from their coral perches, cutting out the animals' adductor muscles and leaving the remains to rot on the ocean floor. The muscles, which hold the clams' two shells together, are considered a delicacy in several Asian countries, selling for as much as $50 a pound. They represent only a small fraction of the animals' meat.
By the time Palauan authorities caught the poachers in the act late last year, nearly 80 percent of the reefs breeding population of giant clams had been destroyed. "At ...