{"id":21362,"date":"2024-10-09T13:47:04","date_gmt":"2024-10-09T13:47:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/?p=21362"},"modified":"2024-10-09T13:48:25","modified_gmt":"2024-10-09T13:48:25","slug":"giant-clam-endangered-species-listing-impacts-giams-sinahi-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/10\/09\/giant-clam-endangered-species-listing-impacts-giams-sinahi-culture\/","title":{"rendered":"Giant clam \u201cendangered species\u201d listing impacts Giam’s sinahi culture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Guam<\/u><\/a>\u2019s sea shell culture is on the line following a U.S. agency\u2019s proposal\u00a0to include giant clam in the \u201cEndangered Species Act<\/u><\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been contemplating the move since 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such a legislation could affect the heritage of the south Pacific Mariana islands that pride in strong seashell traditions. \u00a0Aptly enough, some call the islands the \u201cSinahi archipelago\u201d to indicate the sinahi culture that uses giant clam shell ornaments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A fisherman known as Ronald Laguana told the Guam Post as much in an October 6, 2024 story, terming sinahi as a part of identity. Chieftains would wear these in the past to signify the most appropriate times to fish both inland and at sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laguana was echoing a strong position by the country\u2019s Department of Agriculture, which is opposing the listing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The department cites a previous cultural and religious repercussion of\u00a0sea turtle listing<\/u><\/a>\u00a0as a deterrence for the current proposal. The classification of sea turtles as endangered not only disrupted the sale of spiritual icons from turtle shells but related products, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier in July 2024, the territorial delegate from Guam, James Moylan had asked NOAA to also consider the cultural aspect<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He termed a listing as tantamount to restrictions from wearing ornaments or the possession of shells\u00a0for\u00a0trade<\/u><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guam\u2019s Chamorro people consider seashells a part of their heritage, including chiefs who wear them for religious or social purposes. In old times, body adornments such as Salapethat<\/em> and \u00e5las<\/em> from both clam and tortoise seashells held much appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other than jewelry, the sea bivalves also provide food, livelihood and artisan work in aquaculture projects.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It all began in 2016, when NOAA first proposed to list ten giant clam species as either under threat or endangered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The proposal took off with seven species that later included the Hippopus<\/em> and Tridacna<\/em> genus members. There are also indications that the agency could add some other species in the future, such as H. Hippus<\/em>. The main source of seashells is the T. squamosa<\/em> species, which is also the most abundant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NOAA has authority that extends to Guam, which is one of  the overseas unincorporated territories of the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even through the process of listing, the agency has been backing aquaculture projects<\/u><\/a> for giant clams in two local villages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, it is all looking like sustainability is increasingly clashing with heritage, besides the agricultural and economic angles. To learn more about the agricultural\/economic side of giant clam niche, read on the statistics below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guam Giant Clam Statistics<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Known as hima in the cHamoru language of Giam, giant clams have been a part of the archipelago\u2019s culture for centuries. The shells have featured in\u00a0tool-making<\/u><\/a>, jewelry and sinahi (a crescent-shaped necklace) while clams have provided food. \u00a0According to the U.S. Federal Register, only\u00a0T. squamosa<\/em>\u00a0is populous in Guam at below 10 individuals per water hectare (ha-1<\/sup>). The rest of the species such as\u00a0H. hippopus, H.porcellanus\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0T.derasa<\/em>\u00a0are under reintroduction.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does Guam\u2019s giant clam numbers compare internationally<\/strong>? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Federal Register shows that giant clams are more abundant in Wallis and Futuna Islands at over 100 individuals per <\/u>ha<\/u>-1<\/sup><\/u>)<\/u><\/a> than in Guam. Solomon Islands, Indonesia, Malaysia and Saudi Arabia all have populous T. squamosa<\/em> stocks above 100 individuals per ha-1<\/sup>.  Other countries and territories with impressive numbers include Pitcairn Islands, Palau and Marshall Islands, each with 10 to 100 individuals per ha-1, <\/sup><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What percentage of ocean-sourced giant clams imports reach the United States<\/strong> from Guam and elsewhere<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between 2016 to 2020, the United States imported 4%<\/u><\/a> of its giant clams from sea sources while 96% came from bred aquaculture. Between 1983 through 2016, however, 44.7% of U.S. imports were normally from the sea and 50.6% aquaculture. Some of this portion comes from South Pacific islands such as Guam.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which countries are the main importers of giant clam meat<\/strong>? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the 1983-2020 period, New Zealand claimed 50.4%<\/u><\/a> of giant clam meat imports, while the United States followed at 39.5%. The other portion of 10.1% reached Japan, Singapore and Australia during this period. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Guam\u2019s sea shell culture is on the line following a U.S. agency\u2019s proposal\u00a0to include giant clam in the \u201cEndangered Species Act.\u201d The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been contemplating the move since 2016. Such a legislation could affect the heritage of the south Pacific Mariana islands that pride in strong seashell traditions. \u00a0Aptly…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":21365,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nGiant clam \u201cendangered species\u201d listing impacts Giam's sinahi culture - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/10\/09\/giant-clam-endangered-species-listing-impacts-giams-sinahi-culture\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Giant clam \u201cendangered species\u201d listing impacts Giam's sinahi culture - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Guam\u2019s sea shell culture is on the line following a U.S. agency\u2019s proposal\u00a0to include giant clam in the \u201cEndangered Species Act.\u201d The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been contemplating the move since 2016. Such a legislation could affect the heritage of the south Pacific Mariana islands that pride in strong seashell traditions. \u00a0Aptly...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/10\/09\/giant-clam-endangered-species-listing-impacts-giams-sinahi-culture\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-10-09T13:47:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-10-09T13:48:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Tridacna_gigas_giant_clam_1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"353\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Timothy Wahome\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Timothy Wahome\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/10\/09\/giant-clam-endangered-species-listing-impacts-giams-sinahi-culture\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/10\/09\/giant-clam-endangered-species-listing-impacts-giams-sinahi-culture\/\",\"name\":\"Giant clam \u201cendangered species\u201d listing impacts Giam's sinahi culture - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-10-09T13:47:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-10-09T13:48:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c0aad9a1f85037798080d75b4302cf8\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/10\/09\/giant-clam-endangered-species-listing-impacts-giams-sinahi-culture\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/10\/09\/giant-clam-endangered-species-listing-impacts-giams-sinahi-culture\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/10\/09\/giant-clam-endangered-species-listing-impacts-giams-sinahi-culture\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Giant clam \u201cendangered species\u201d listing impacts Giam’s sinahi culture\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News\",\"description\":\"Discover the Latest in Food and Agriculture.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c0aad9a1f85037798080d75b4302cf8\",\"name\":\"Timothy Wahome\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/636da6c8288b7dcaef01a42b50c3bc41?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/636da6c8288b7dcaef01a42b50c3bc41?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Timothy Wahome\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/author\/twt4wahomegmail-com\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Giant clam \u201cendangered species\u201d listing impacts Giam's sinahi culture - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/10\/09\/giant-clam-endangered-species-listing-impacts-giams-sinahi-culture\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Giant clam \u201cendangered species\u201d listing impacts Giam's sinahi culture - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News","og_description":"Guam\u2019s sea shell culture is on the line following a U.S. agency\u2019s proposal\u00a0to include giant clam in the \u201cEndangered Species Act.\u201d The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has been contemplating the move since 2016. Such a legislation could affect the heritage of the south Pacific Mariana islands that pride in strong seashell traditions. \u00a0Aptly...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/10\/09\/giant-clam-endangered-species-listing-impacts-giams-sinahi-culture\/","og_site_name":"Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News","article_published_time":"2024-10-09T13:47:04+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-10-09T13:48:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":640,"height":353,"url":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Tridacna_gigas_giant_clam_1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Timothy Wahome","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Timothy Wahome","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/10\/09\/giant-clam-endangered-species-listing-impacts-giams-sinahi-culture\/","url":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/10\/09\/giant-clam-endangered-species-listing-impacts-giams-sinahi-culture\/","name":"Giant clam \u201cendangered species\u201d listing impacts Giam's sinahi culture - Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2024-10-09T13:47:04+00:00","dateModified":"2024-10-09T13:48:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c0aad9a1f85037798080d75b4302cf8"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/10\/09\/giant-clam-endangered-species-listing-impacts-giams-sinahi-culture\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/10\/09\/giant-clam-endangered-species-listing-impacts-giams-sinahi-culture\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/2024\/10\/09\/giant-clam-endangered-species-listing-impacts-giams-sinahi-culture\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Giant clam \u201cendangered species\u201d listing impacts Giam’s sinahi culture"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/","name":"Selina Wamucii | Food & Agriculture News","description":"Discover the Latest in Food and Agriculture.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c0aad9a1f85037798080d75b4302cf8","name":"Timothy Wahome","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/636da6c8288b7dcaef01a42b50c3bc41?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/636da6c8288b7dcaef01a42b50c3bc41?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Timothy Wahome"},"url":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/author\/twt4wahomegmail-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21362"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21362"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21367,"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21362\/revisions\/21367"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.selinawamucii.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}