They may look peculiar, but geoducks—giant bivalves that hail from West Coast waters—are a delicacy in Asia. Ordinarily, U.S. shellfish growers export them by the millions of pounds—and tens of millions of dollars—every year. Except this year.
An import ban by China has temporarily torpedoed the trade. Now a U.S. delegation will head to China this week to plead the clams’ case.
They are extraordinary by any measure: The biggest weigh 16 pounds. The oldest live up to 160 years. Unlike lesser clams, whose puny bodies can be contained discreetly their shells, the big bruisers exceed their shells’ dimensions. To protect themselves from their two predators (man and sea otters), they burrow deep into the seabed. To get oxygen and nutrients, they project a three-foot neck-like siphon up into the water.
Read Full Article HERE
Alan Farnham, ABC News via CHINA US Focus http://ift.tt/1eWBxk2
No comments:
Post a Comment