[Slraep]

Originally Posted by GemGeek

Tridacna Gigas is a protected species in many countries - be warned!

That's right GemGeek! The Tridacna gigas is having a hard time surviving the plundering of man. And no matter how much the problem is being brought up here or on other websites and forums, there are still plenty of people eating it, fishing it out of the ocean for aquarium "hobbyists", and fishing it with dreams of making big bucks selling its pearls. How regrettable!

Slraep

[whatpearl]

Originally Posted by Slraep

That's right GemGeek! The Tridacna gigas is having a hard time surviving the plundering of man. And no matter how much the problem is being brought up here or on other websites and forums, there are still plenty of people eating it, fishing it out of the ocean for aquarium "hobbyists", and fishing it with dreams of making big bucks selling its pearls. How regrettable!

Slraep

I am all for saving endagered species and their habitats. But I have question for you. If you are in a community that live of the sea for food. Not for profit were you sell what you catch. And this places are far from advancing civilization, they would not know what's endangered and what's not. All they know is they have to feed their family. Are this people wrong. And if they happen to stumble on a pearl , are they plundering?

[whatpearl]

I love Pearls. To me they are just pearls, compared to the real beauty of the species this pearls come from.

[GemGeek]

Originally Posted by whatpearl

I am all for saving endagered species and their habitats. But I have question for you. If you are in a community that live of the sea for food. Not for profit were you sell what you catch. And this places are far from advancing civilization, they would not know what's endangered and what's not. All they know is they have to feed their family. Are this people wrong. And if they happen to stumble on a pearl , are they plundering?

I don't think anyone has a problem with the use of Tridacna by native people for their own needs. There are laws in place to prevent the plundering of endangered species for trade/commerce. For you, those laws might mean that taking the pearl across international borders entails a risk that it could be confiscated at customs.

[Slraep]

Originally Posted by whatpearl

I am all for saving endagered species and their habitats. But I have question for you. If you are in a community that live of the sea for food. Not for profit were you sell what you catch. And this places are far from advancing civilization, they would not know what's endangered and what's not. All they know is they have to feed their family. Are this people wrong. And if they happen to stumble on a pearl , are they plundering?

And where would this place be?

Slraep

[Caitlin]

Look at this...........

In recent years the Tridacna Gigas clam has moved from the endangered species list, to a "closely watched" list. the US Fish & Wildlife Service now allows importing by quota, and from aquaculture
farms. LINK

It is on the Iucn list as "Vulnerable". Its habitat is very large, from N australia to sulawesi, east coast of Malay, Saba, Palawan and Fiji.

Though China now buys at least some of them from aquaculture farms, poaching is still a big problem.

[Slraep]

CITES database for Tridacna gigas/Giant clam.

http://www.cites.org/eng/resources/species.html

Slraep

[Caitlin]

Make no mistake, these critters are protected, but some sources are of "least concern" and eating by first peoples often occurs.
This was a chart on a CITIES page.

Range States selected for review LINK
Range State Exports* (1994-2003)
Urgent, possible or least concern
Comments

Australia ca 16,000 kg shells & 320 shells. Least concern Considerable quantities of captive-bred exports; mariculture. facility not approved for T. gigas
Comoros No exports Least concern No exports; not knows as range State
Fiji 1,000 live, 200 shells. Least concern Species probably introduced; recorded level of export low (ca 120 specimens a year).

Micronesia Minimal trade Least concern Minimal trade

Japan No exports Least concern No exports

Kiribati Minimal trade Least concern Minimal trade

Malaysia Minimal trade Least concern Minimal trade
Marshall islands. Minimal trade Least concern Minimal trade
Myanmar No exports Least concern No exports
Palau Minimal trade Least concern Minimal trade
Papua New Guinea Minimal trade Least concern Minimal trade
Tonga Minimal trade Least concern Minimal trade
Vanuatu Minimal trade Least concern Minimal trade
Viet Nam 29,000 kg, shells, 100 live. Least concern Not definitely known as range State; shell export recorded in a single year (2000); apart from 100 live specimens in 2002, no subsequent export of T. gigas or of Tridacna spp. or Tridacnidae spp.

*Excluding re-exports

It looks like exports are the dangerous acts, not local eating and trade.

[Caitlin]

LINK Here is a CITIES list including countries where t gigas is extinct, has been introduced, and reintroduced.

[knotty panda]

Originally Posted by whatpearl

I am all for saving endagered species and their habitats. But I have question for you. If you are in a community that live of the sea for food. Not for profit were you sell what you catch. And this places are far from advancing civilization, they would not know what's endangered and what's not. All they know is they have to feed their family. Are this people wrong. And if they happen to stumble on a pearl , are they plundering?

You're presenting a situation ethic rather than a legal one. Of course, no one would deny people of an EXCLUSIVE food source regardless of it's scarcity. They would find ways to cultivate it to prevent extinction. That being said, this is not that type of scenario. Which is why governments form bonds which support each other's concerns. Governments have a way of communicating their legalities and ignorance is seldom an excuse to violate.

Stumbling onto a pearl from an endangered species is one thing. Attempting to sell it for profit is quite another.

Segue ... for a non-nacreous pearl to have value, it has to be extremely unusual. Your pearl is not a gem and not terribly large of it's kind. Flame patterns and rare colors make non-nacreous pearls valuable, unless it has some really great tale to go with it.

Is there anything particularly unusual about your pearl which makes it a source of interest to a collector?

[Slraep]

Originally Posted by knotty panda

... for a non-nacreous pearl to have value, it has to be extremely unusual. Your pearl is not a gem and not terribly large of it's kind.

Hi Knotty,

Well said.

Yeah, lucky for the Tridacna gigas that it does not produce any nacreous beauties, !! Now how did Josh so romantically describe a giant clam concretion again? Oh yes---"a lump looking like a cold piece of lard".

Slraep

[whatpearl]

Great information guys.... Seee I would not have known all the little things with regards to pearls if it wasn't for your honest words. ---"a lump looking like a cold piece of lard". thats pretty funny but true...

[CLICLASP]

Originally Posted by GemGeek

Tridacna Gigas is a protected species in many countries - be warned!

Hello

What are the news about the new bead nucleated China pearls wit tails, are they or are they not nucleated with that clam?
And is it or not forbidden ?
thus, are these pearls still " ethical" ?


Thanks

[whatpearl]

here it is finaly

[airdancer]

That's huge. What does one do with this?