Calamianes islands receive first batch of Philippines true Tridacna gigas giant clams

Following El Nido and Taytay, the next batch of juvenile native Tridacna gigas giant clams numbering 500 were deployed to effectively-managed marine protected areas (MPAs) in Linapacan and Coron as part of the marine species re-stocking component (String-of-Pearls project) of Malampaya Foundation Inc.’s (MFI) marine biodiversity conservation program.

The MPA in San Miguel, Linapacan was expanded from 30 to 623 hectares in 2017, while the 3,468-hectare Bulalacao MPA in Coron was established in 2014, both of which came to fruition with full technical, social mobilisation, legal and logistical support of the Malampaya Foundation.

Both MPAs have been awarded among the best-managed MPAs in the Calamianes islands by USAID’s RACE (Recognition Awards for Calamianes’ Ecosystem) awards in 2017 and 2019.