Identification of pen shells in the Philippines

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Where the pen shells occur in northern Iloilo, poor fishers anchor their livelihood in the trading of the adductor muscles of Atrina pecticanata, the only species that is accepted by the export market, and other species to support local demand. Divers extract the adductor muscles while they are still underwater and discard the pen shells’ bigger mantle biomass behind, highlighting loses that have been experienced by a wasteful fishery practice that may only make them poorer and potentially compromise their future even more, if current practices are ignored and not corrected. Thus, we are preparing follow-up studies to maximize the potentials of discarded biomass and shells to develop viable food or agricultural products, consistent with the requirements of a circular economy. Although the supply to the export market, particularly to Taiwan, has long been declining, information on the status of pen shell resources is still scanty, and this output only calls attention to the need to reconsider current research priorities towards other resources that are facing extinction due to over-exploitation and for maintaining environmental integrity, which are both needed to support a resilient local economy. The potentials of pen shells to the export and local markets provide additional reasons to promote interventions that only research activities can provide. Support for initiatives to make new discoveries on local resources like these pen shell species would help the government realize its goal of allocating research resources more equitably and directly to frontline institutions, which is critical for an archipelagic country like the Philippines.

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