The fishermen had come for the giant clams, massive mollusks measuring as much as four feet across and weighing 500 pounds. Grinding their boat propellers against coral in the South China Sea, they ...

Giant clams, which can grow to weigh more than 200 kilograms (440 pounds), have long been traded for their shells, which are carved into decorative items, as well as for food and the aquarium trade.

Located along the shores of the South China Sea in Hainan province — a southern island sometimes referred to as China’s Hawaii — the coastal town of Tanmen used to be the home of a flourishing trade ...