Shellfish enthusiasts worldwide are now harvesting more than 800 varieties of clams, oysters, mussels, and other seafood, expanding the list of recognized species exploited by humans and emphasizing the need for sustainable harvesting practices to prevent overexploitation.
In a new study published in Nature Communications, an international team of biologists and ecologists significantly increased the number of shallow-marine bivalves known to be exploited by humans for food. They added 720 species to the 81 reported in the United Nations FAO Production Database.
The research, led by scientists from the University of Birmingham and the Smithsonian Institution in the U.S., not only identifies global “hotspots” where exploited bivalves are found but also pinpoints areas with higher vulnerabilities to overexploitation. The study includes a list of species at the greatest risk.
Among the top ten at-risk species are oysters off the coasts of Malaysia and the Philippines, paper scallops from the Gulf of Mexico, and venus clams off the Atlantic coast of Central Africa.
Dr. Shan Huang, Assistant Professor of Paleobiology at the University of Birmingham, emphasized, “By identifying these species and getting them recognized around the world, responsible fishing can diversify the species that are gathered and avoid making oysters the dodos of the sea.”
Dr. Stewart Edie, Research Geologist, and Curator of Fossil Bivalvia at the Smithsonian Institution noted, “This is a bit of a wake-up call to check on how resilient clams and mussels are to both natural and human-caused environmental changes.”
Dr. Katie Collins, Curator of Benthic Molluscs at the Natural History Museum in London, stressed the importance of managing these species and the climate carefully to ensure their presence for future generations.
