Clipping Board » Environmental Pollution & Change ─ How dirty the human heart is, how dirty the environment will be...
Update Date: 2008/05/30 04:09
[Reporter Wang Bailian, Fangyuan Report]
This month, a large number of rare white clams have been discovered along the coast of Fangyuan Township, delighting locals who have been gathering them for consumption. Some residents suspect this to be an abnormal phenomenon or even an omen of a natural disaster. However, domestic expert in marine clam aquaculture, He Yunda, pointed out that white clams should naturally exist along the coast of Fangyuan Township, and their increased numbers this year are due to higher reproduction rates, not mutation or any other abnormal phenomenon.
Following the appearance of a large number of white clams at the mouth of the Zhuoshui River in Dacheng Township in 2002, this year has seen a resurgence of white clams along the coast of Fangyuan Township. Not only have local coastal residents been digging them up for consumption, but people from Changhua, Yongjing, Beidou, Pitou, and other townships and cities have also come to collect them. They take advantage of the low tide to enter the intertidal zone, one to two kilometers from the coast, along the seaward road from the fishermen's square in Xinyi Village, to gather and dig up white clams.
Fishermen say it's a sight not seen in over 40 years.
Residents mentioned that these ivory-shelled "white clams" have smaller meat and are mostly used as ingredients for soup rather than stir-fry. Therefore, not only are white clams rarely sold in markets, but they are also mostly consumed at home or given to friends and relatives.
Cai Jinrong, a fisherman from Fangyuan Township, noted that he has lived by the sea since childhood and has seen white clams before, but the quantity this year is exceptionally large, something he hasn't witnessed in over forty years.
Some people associate it with omens of natural disasters.
Some residents even speculated whether this phenomenon is an anomaly, drawing connections to the Sichuan earthquake, and worried that the mutation of clams into white species and other biological abnormalities might be signs of a major natural disaster.
However, He Yunda, an associate researcher at the Taisi Experimental Station of the Fisheries Research Institute's Marine Breeding Research Center under the Council of Agriculture, stated that white clams are a general term based on their shell color, and there are actually many varieties. Since he has not seen the white clams from Fangyuan Township, he cannot determine the specific variety, but he believes it is not a mutation but a normal variety. He speculates that the increased attention is simply due to the higher reproduction rate this year.
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ art……url/ d/ a/ 080530/ 78/ 108f5. html
Phenomenon? Massive Surge of White Clams at Fangyuan Beach
[Reporter Wang Bailian, Fangyuan Report]
This month, a large number of rare white clams have been discovered along the coast of Fangyuan Township, delighting locals who have been gathering them for consumption. Some residents suspect this to be an abnormal phenomenon or even an omen of a natural disaster. However, domestic expert in marine clam aquaculture, He Yunda, pointed out that white clams should naturally exist along the coast of Fangyuan Township, and their increased numbers this year are due to higher reproduction rates, not mutation or any other abnormal phenomenon.
Following the appearance of a large number of white clams at the mouth of the Zhuoshui River in Dacheng Township in 2002, this year has seen a resurgence of white clams along the coast of Fangyuan Township. Not only have local coastal residents been digging them up for consumption, but people from Changhua, Yongjing, Beidou, Pitou, and other townships and cities have also come to collect them. They take advantage of the low tide to enter the intertidal zone, one to two kilometers from the coast, along the seaward road from the fishermen's square in Xinyi Village, to gather and dig up white clams.
Fishermen say it's a sight not seen in over 40 years.
Residents mentioned that these ivory-shelled "white clams" have smaller meat and are mostly used as ingredients for soup rather than stir-fry. Therefore, not only are white clams rarely sold in markets, but they are also mostly consumed at home or given to friends and relatives.
Cai Jinrong, a fisherman from Fangyuan Township, noted that he has lived by the sea since childhood and has seen white clams before, but the quantity this year is exceptionally large, something he hasn't witnessed in over forty years.
Some people associate it with omens of natural disasters.
Some residents even speculated whether this phenomenon is an anomaly, drawing connections to the Sichuan earthquake, and worried that the mutation of clams into white species and other biological abnormalities might be signs of a major natural disaster.
However, He Yunda, an associate researcher at the Taisi Experimental Station of the Fisheries Research Institute's Marine Breeding Research Center under the Council of Agriculture, stated that white clams are a general term based on their shell color, and there are actually many varieties. Since he has not seen the white clams from Fangyuan Township, he cannot determine the specific variety, but he believes it is not a mutation but a normal variety. He speculates that the increased attention is simply due to the higher reproduction rate this year.
Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ art……url/ d/ a/ 080530/ 78/ 108f5. html