Don't Buy Souvenir Seashells

Cebu launches crackdown on illegal seashell trade

If you want to collect shells pick them up on the beach - don't buy them!



PATERNO ESMAQUEL II, GMA NewsMay 18, 2011

In Cebu – home to one of the most diverse concentrations of seashells in
the world – local authorities have seized truckloads of endangered
seashells that were meant to be sold and shipped abroad over the last
two months.

In the latest in a series of raids on
illegal seashell traders, local authorities seized around P2 million
worth of endangered seashells and other species from the residential
compound of 59-year-old Kalali Daigal Sabteri last April 27.

The confiscated items include nine sacks of Tridacna shells, three boxes of
murex shells, three sacks of sponges, a box of sea corals, and four
baby sharks, Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)
provincial chief Ricky Neron told GMA News Online in a telephone
interview.

All species of Tridacna or giant clams
are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The Philippines is a signatory
to the treaty. The International Union for Conservation of Nature and
Natural Resources (IUCN) has classified at least one murex species under
the “lower risk" and “near threatened" category.

The series of raids was mandated by the Cebu Provincial Anti-Illegal
Fishing Task Force, which was formed through a provincial executive
order to curb illegal marine activities in Cebu. So far, the group has
made five raids and more are planned, highlighting the seriousness of
the problem on illegal possession and trade of endangered seashells in
the island.

Selling seashells

Located in the Visayan Sea – one of the biggest and most productive fishing
grounds in the Philippines – Cebu has a decades-long history of
large-scale seashell trading, according to a 2003 study.

An environment advocate and writer based in Manila, Anna Oposa, raised
the alarm on what she called the “plunder of Philippine marine life" in
several letters to government agencies and the media early this year. In
particular, she brought to the attention of authorities the trading
activities of the Cebu-based Orcullo Enterprises, which allegedly ships
endangered species to the US-based company Shell Horizons Inc.
Here is the offender: http://www.shellhorizons.com

Oposa, the daughter of prominent environment lawyer and Ramon Magsaysay
awardee Antonio Oposa Jr., asserted in her letters that Shell Horizons
violates local and international laws on the possession and trade of
marine resources. She said one of the species that Shell Horizons sells
is the Tridacna gigas, which is listed as vulnerable by the IUCN.

“The company Shell Horizons appears to be collecting, exporting, and selling
seashells, corals, giant clams, and other marine species from the
Philippines," Oposa wrote in her letter to Bureau of Fisheries and
Aquatic Resources (BFAR) assistant director Benjamin Tabios Jr. dated
April 11.

Oposa cited a provision in the Philippine
Fisheries Code of 1998 that does not allow “any person or corporation
to gather, possess, sell, or export ordinary, precious, and
semi-precious corals, whether raw or in processed form, except for
scientific or research purposes."

The Fisheries Code also prohibits the collection of rare, threatened, or endangered
species, including some varieties of seashells listed in the CITES and
banned by the government.

Orcullo: ‘That’s a lie’

On its website, Shell Horizons describes itself as America’s “largest
wholesaler of quality seashells and ocean products," many of which are
found in the Philippines, such as capiz shells. Previously, the
company’s contact information said Shell Horizons “is located in
Clearwater, Florida, USA, and on the islands of Bahamas and the
Philippines." Shortly after Oposa released her letters and media
statement in late April, however, the website replaced the Philippines
with “Indo-Pacific Islands."