By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
Negros Occidental’s Cadiz City Mayor Salvador Escalante, Jr. called for the revival of a bill creating a marine sanctuary on the city’s Lakawon Island.
Escalante and members of the media were given access on Sunday, March 26, to see first-hand the island’s Giant Clam Village or G.C. Ville, where more than 2,000 of at least four species of giant clams were raised for more than two years of spawning.
The giant clam species were Tridacna squamosa (fluted giant clam), Tridacna crocea (boring giant clam), Hippopus hippopus (horse hoof clam), and Tridacna Maxima (small giant clam).
The number does not include thousands of baby clams.
The 1.3-hectare G.C. Ville is also inhabited by several species of seahorses, clownfish and corals.
Escalante said they already have an existing ordinance declaring the clam village as a protected area.
He said there is also a bill filed in the House of Representatives during the term of former Governor Alfredo Marañon, Jr.
However, Escalante had no idea as to why it didn’t move through the lower house.
“Probably, there is a need to revive or re-file,” he said.
If the area is declared as a marine sanctuary, he said, it would help improve eco-tourism on the island.
The city has already invested in the project by providing a glass-bottomed boat wherein tourists can see the giant clams.
The G.C. Ville is being maintained by a local marine conservationist group led by Hereliza Osorio, a former cashier at the Lakawon Island Resort.
Osorio said during her spare time as a cashier at the resort, she would gather the clams and take care of them.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Osorio said she lost her job and was forced to return home to Iloilo province’s Sara town.
However, she said she didn’t want to leave the giant clams she nurtured.
The giant clams are tagged as “vulnerable” and placed on the “red list” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
In the Philippines, it is illegal to harvest and export giant clams. Violators could be fined up to P3 million or face up to three years of jail time./With a report from PNA / DGB, WDJ