Several Pinoys are calling on environment officials to investigate two individuals who were seen eating endangered giant clams in a Facebook video.
The two individuals are members of a Facebook food blog called Raw & Cook Food Asmr. They uploaded their “mukbang” video of giant clams on November 4. The video, however, has since been removed from their page.
Sunstar Cebu reported a copy of this video on Wednesday, November 8.
In the video report, the two individuals, who introduced themselves as siblings, showed their viewers how they ate the food in question.
In the post, Sunstar Cebu cited the regulations protecting giant clams in the country.
“SunStar would like to remind the public that catching taklobo is illegal, as the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) has declared it an endangered species,” the report said.
“Taklobo has been on the list of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) and determined by Fisheries Administrative Order 208,” it added.
Threatened with extinction
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) is a global treaty between governments “to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species.”
Giant clams (Tridacnidae or Tridacninae gigas) are listed in CITES’ Appendix I, a list of species threatened with extinction.
CITES’ appendices can be viewed here Appendices | CITES.
Under the Fisheries Administrative Order 208, giant clams also fall under the “endangered species” category.
Section 2 of the order stated that it is “unlawful” to catch species that are categorized as “rare, threatened and endangered.”
“It shall be unlawful for any person, natural or juridical, to take or catch or cause to be taken or caught the following fishery/aquatic species,” the provision reads.
Penalties for violators of this order are “imprisonment from twelve years to twenty years or a fine of one hundred and twenty thousand pesos, or both such fine and imprisonment in the discretion of the court, including forfeiture of the catch subject of the offense and cancellation of his fishing permit, if applicable.”
Concerned Pinoys react
Several Filipinos who saw the video prior to deletion called on the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to take action and investigate the content creators involved.
“Calling the attention of @DENROfficial. A content creator posted this video eating giant clams. This is illegal. Please take action. The video was already deleted, but it was still up this morning, three days after it was posted,” the X user MangingisdaSays posted.
“This is illegal! Please share until it reaches authorities. Many government, private and academic institutions are working hard to conserve giant clams due to their ecosystem services. We must not allow giant clam poaching!” a Facebook user named Jerwin Gallego Baure also said.
As of writing, the mukbang vlog can still be accessed on Facebook.
The need for protection
Giant clams are the largest mollusks and living bivalve species on Earth weighing more than 440 pounds.
National Geographic said that these marine creatures provide the oceans’ algae “a safe home and regular access to sunlight for photosynthesis.”
“Giant clams achieve their enormous proportions by consuming the sugars and proteins produced by the billions of algae that live in their tissues,” the publication said.
“In exchange, they offer the algae a safe home and regular access to sunlight for photosynthesis, basking by day below the water’s surface with their fluted shells open and their multi-colored mantles exposed,” it added.