Giant clams in Truong Sa
During a stopover at Da Bac Port - Cam Ranh (Khanh Hoa), Mr. Nguyen By, the owner of a humpback whale (ocean tuna) fishing boat in Binh Dinh, told us many thrilling stories of encountering and catching sharks in the middle of the ocean. The East Sea, which belongs to Vietnam's territorial waters, has many precious products and all kinds of shrimp, fish, snails, squid... are all giant. But the most ferocious is the mysterious giant clam, some of which weigh more than 100kg, holding pearls as big as chicken eggs, which jewelers are willing to pay billions to buy.
Tourists admire giant clams at Nha Trang Oceanography Institute
AMAZED BY THE GIANT SNAIL
Five years ago, Mr. By and his fellow humpback whalers in the Truong Sa archipelago were anchoring their boat in the southern part of the archipelago when they received a signal that a level 10 storm was forming, growing stronger and appearing soon. “When we heard about the storm, we were very scared and quickly looked for a place to hide. At that time, the closest place we stopped to take shelter was Da Lat island, a submerged island under Vietnam’s sovereignty in the East Sea,” Mr. By said.
During his three-day stay on Da Lat Island, Mr. By and his group of seven seafaring friends were enthusiastically helped by the navy soldiers on duty to guard the island and were treated to many interesting stories about the "animals" on the remote island. Truong Sa soldiers said that Da Lat was the "kingdom of giant snails", some weighing tens of kilograms, even hundreds of kilograms. Some of their comrades, while on patrol, accidentally fell into a giant snail trap and had their feet trapped by it. To prove that they were not telling lies, the island soldiers gave him several giant snail shells as souvenirs.
Special boat to Da Lat island...
...and the clam shells around the island
“When I was given a snail shell weighing about 20kg by some island soldiers, I was very surprised. Later, when I approached my brothers who specialize in diving for sea cucumbers and pearl oysters in the East Sea, I learned that there are many giant snails in the territorial waters under Vietnam's sovereignty, they are also called "sea clams", books call them "elephant ear clams". There are sea clams that when opened, people found a pearl as big as a chicken egg. Pearls that size are said to be sold for billions of dong", Mr. By said.
The story of the giant clam excited us. Unable to overcome the waves to reach the Truong Sa archipelago, we had to “hunt” for this snail through specialized documents and discovered that, along with the yellow-lipped pearl oyster, black-lipped pearl oyster, sea clam or giant elephant ear clam, it is also listed in the Vietnam Red Book. The Vietnam Red Book records that the giant elephant ear clam specimen collected on Sinh Ton island in the Truong Sa archipelago was 0.95m long and 0.51m wide. In the world, there is a specimen 1.35m long and weighing nearly 300kg.
The unbelievable figures about the shape and weight of the giant clam in the Vietnam Red Book made us extremely curious. Luckily, about half a month after meeting Mr. By at Da Bac Port - Cam Ranh, we had a voyage to Truong Sa with the crew of the Truong Sa 22 ship of Brigade 146 (Navy Region 4). During this trip, the Truong Sa 22 ship visited not only Da Lat Island but also other submerged islands.
OCEAN TREASURES
Located in the northeast, 14 nautical miles from Truong Sa Lon Island, 7 nautical miles from the international shipping route, Da Lat is a submerged island with extremely harsh natural conditions. The naval soldiers' base is located in the middle of a vast coral reef. To approach the island, the captain of Truong Sa 22 had to cut through the waves and wind to reach the edge of the island, where on this side is a coral reef that can be waded, but just a few dozen steps away is a depth of thousands of meters. Seafood in Da Lat is very rich, with almost all the rare products of the ocean, including sea clams.
When the boat arrived at the island command center, Lieutenant Nguyen Huu Co (23 years old, from Nam Dinh, worked for a year on Da Lat island) told the story of the "giant sea clam". In April 2011, the sea clam he first encountered had a circumference the size of a rice tray, weighing about 50kg. "Unable to bring it back, I used a knife to cut open its mouth to get the meat. It was so big, but its meat was only a little over a kilo. After that, every time I went fishing more than 1 nautical mile (equivalent to 1.8km) from the island, my teammates and I encountered a lot of sea clams, each one was huge," he said.
Leaving Da Lat Island, when arriving at the Thuyen Chai Island cluster (including Thuyen Chai A, Thuyen Chai B, Thuyen Chai C), the navy soldiers also showed us with their own eyes and told us many stories about the giant clams. Captain Trieu Tien Huy - political commissar of Thuyen Chai A Island, said that the giant clams or elephant ear clams do not actually contain pearls. They just lie still in one place and grow larger over time: “During patrols,We often see giant clams, some as big as trays and even bigger.
Deep in the sea, when the clam opens its mouth, it looks like a strangely beautiful five-colored flower.
The Vietnam Red Book states that giant clams are not pearl-bearing species like the yellow-lipped pearl clam and the black-lipped pearl clam. They are valuable because of their narrow distribution area and especially because of their incredibly huge appearance.
The giant clam’s exterior is made up of thin wings, looking like thousands of waves continuously hitting the shore. The inside is pure white, the core has a charming pearlescent color. It is truly a masterpiece of nature. Knowing that they are endemic creatures, rare treasures, the soldiers of Truong Sa island strictly preserve and protect them.
“The giant clam has a strange characteristic, similar to that of a whale, which is shooting water. Sometimes, while on patrol, we suddenly see them open their mouths and shoot a large, powerful jet of water high up. Then they slowly open their mouths as if to filter aquatic life from the water for food. At that time, they look like a beautiful, colorful flower,” said a navy soldier on Thuyen Chai B Island.
The Vietnam Red Book records that in Vietnam, only giant clams or giant clams have been found in the Truong Sa archipelago with two specimens collected on Sinh Ton island. This is a rare clam species with a narrow distribution range and a threat level of R (including monotypic genera whose long-term survival is fragile). The reason is that this species is being eyed by hobbyists not only in Vietnam but also around the world, who are willing to pay high prices to have its giant shell to decorate their homes.
According to CATP-M
