大型二枚貝２００トン押収、２７億円相当　フィリピン

【マニラＡＦＰ＝時事】フィリピン当局は１７日、違法に捕獲された約２５００万ドル（約２７億円）相当の大型二枚貝およそ２００トンを押収したと明らかにした。大型二枚貝は世界的に取り締まりが強化されている象牙の代替品として利用されており、違法な取引が増加している。（写真は資料写真）
　沿岸警備隊によると、スールー海に浮かぶ離島のグリーン島で４人が逮捕された。押収された貝の中には、世界最大の二枚貝であるオオシャコガイ（学名：Ｔｒｉｄａｃｎａ　ｇｉｇａｓ）も含まれていたという。
　オオシャコガイは最大で体長１．３メートル、重さ２５０キロにまで成長する。専門家らによると、希少となった象牙の代替品にシャコガイは利用されており、イヤリングやシャンデリアなどさまざまな製品の原材料となっている。
　フィリピンの野生生物保護法は、絶滅の危機にある動植物を殺す行為に対し、１２年以下の実刑および１００万ペソ（約２２３万円）以下の罰金を規定している。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】

〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/04/21-13:45）

Philippine authorities said Saturday they have seized some 200 tonnes of illegally harvested giant clam shells worth nearly $25 million in one of the biggest known operations of its kind in the country.
Conservationists have expressed alarm over the surging illicit trade in the endangered creatures, which are used as a substitute for ivory following a global crackdown in the trade of elephant tusks.
The Philippines is home to most of the world's giant tropical clam species, and Friday's raid took place in the western province of Palawan, considered a poaching hotbed.
The coastguard said four suspects were arrested on the remote Green Island in the Sulu Sea that turned up the largest ever giant clam shell haul by law enforcers in the area.
Taking the giant clams from their natural habitat is a form of inter-generational crime, Jovic Fabello, spokesman for the Palawan Council for Sustainable Development told AFP.
It will permanently affect the marine ecosystem and future generations will be deprived of the benefits accruing from it, he added.
He said the seized shells included those of the Tridacna gigas, the world's largest clam.
Growing up to 1.3 metres (4.5 feet) wide and weighing up to 250 kilogrammes (550 pounds), these host marine algae which are a basic food source for many of the fish species consumed by humans.
Conservationists say giant clam shells are used as an alternative material for products ranging from earrings to chandeliers as ivory becomes scarce.
Fabello said the illegal trade in giant clams has been growing in Palawan and several other areas of the Philippines in the past three years.
Killing endangered species is punishable by up to 12 years in prison and fines of up to a million pesos under the country's wildlife protection act.
These people are digging up giant clams and killing them, Fabello alleged.
The coast guard estimated the value of the latest haul at 1.2 billion pesos ($24.8 million).
It dwarfed the previous Palawan record of 80 tonnes of giant clam shells worth $3.3 million that were seized early last month from Johnson Island, also near the venue of Friday's raid.