Farming Giant Clams for the Aquarium and Seafood Markets: A Bioeconomic Analysis

Giant clams offer small holders throughout the Indo-Pacific with good prospects for commercial culture to satisfy their increasing dependence on the cash economy. Two species appear promising for an emerging village-based export industry in Solomon Islands. These species are Tridacna crocea, the preferred species for the aquarium market, and T. derasa, the species that has the best potential for the seafood market. In this paper, a bioeconomic model is used in a normative analysis to explore optimal-management strategies for village farmers producing these clams. The normative study provides a benchmark against which current practices can be evaluated.