2012. Review of Significant Trade - Cites

Tridacna spp.
imported between 2007 and 2009, with imports increasing from five shells in 2003 to
611 shells in 2009. In contrast, the majority of live specimens were imported between 2000
and 2005, with the import of 200 captive-bred, live specimens in 2009 the only trade reported
since then.
Re-exports of T. gigas originating in the Solomon Islands 2000-2010 consisted of 234 wildsourced
shells, 155 live, captive-bred specimens and 10 carvings (primarily wild-sourced)
according to importers. Re-exporters only reported the export of three live specimens and
one shell. The majority of re-exports were traded for commercial purposes.
Table 3. Direct trade in Tridacna gigas from the Solomon Islands, 2000-2010 (all trade reported by
importers). (No trade was reported in 2010.)
Term Source 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 Total
live W 11 4 12 5 6 8 46
C 61 1 404 12 30 200 708
F 200 1 16 217
shells W 106 100 319 616 611 1752
C 5 5
F 20 20
Source: CITES Trade Database, UNEP-World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge, UK
Mingoa-Licuanan and Gomez (2002) reported that prices between USD 25 and USD 45 were
paid for live juveniles in the aquarium trade.
Management: The trade and export of wild-sourced specimens was reported to be banned
in the Solomon Islands (Solomon Islands Consolidated Legislation, 1996), however the trade
and export of farmed specimens is permitted (Solomon Islands, 2009). Subsistence
harvesting is not regulated, which was considered to threaten particularly the populations of
T. gigas, along with T. derasa (Green et al., 2006). It was reported that traditional management
practices may exist in some areas (Kinch et al., 2006), and the species was often found in
village clam gardens (Hviding, 1993). Further details are provided in the genus overview.
T. gigas was initially regarded as a species particularly suitable for meat production in
mariculture due to its robustness and quick growth, (SPC Aquaculture Portal, 2009).
However, an economic analysis by Hambrey and Gervis (1993) suggested that village-based
farming of T. gigas for meat in the Solomon Islands may be economically unviable due to the
high initial investments needed, long growth period and high production and marketing
risks.
In trials, implemented in 1989-1992 in 40 coastal villages in the Solomon Islands, T. gigas
delivered to the villagers for grow-out at the size of 34.6 mm shell length and with a mean
age of 380 days, were considered of a suitable size for the aquarium market 297 days later, at
77.6 mm shell length (Bell et al., 1997). As a result of the trials, Bell et al. (1997) saw good
potential in the development of economically profitable village-based production of T. gigas.
Since the establishment of small-scale farming programmes for rural communities by the
WorldFish Center during the 1990s, hatchery-reared juvenile T. gigas was reported to
continue to be supplied to farmers in the Western Province who then tended the clams
during the grow-out stage (Horokou et al., 2010). After grow-out in the villages, these
specimens were sold to the company Aquarium Arts, which exported specimens for the
global marine aquarium trade (Horokou et al., 2010). In 2007, the Solomon Islands was
reported to have produced 4300 individuals of cultured T. derasa for the aquarium trade,
with an estimated national export potential of 15 000 cultured individuals
(Kinch and Teitelbaum, 2010).
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