This webinar originally aired on 13 June, 2019.

The South China Sea supplies approximately 15% of the world’s fish and helps support ~38 million coastal residents. Part of this production system includes more than 3,800 square kilometers of the world’s most diverse offshore coral reefs. Since 2011, many of the reef flats have been severely damaged by small boats from China digging up giant clams for the tens of millions-dollar shell carving trade. This practice was not widely known until 2016 when negative publicity led the Chinese government to ban this activity. For the past few years, there have been only occasional reports of the practice continuing. As of 2019, however, a modified version of the practice has emerged in the Pratas Islands and Scarborough Atoll. This talk will describe the current situation and present a proposal for a peace park for the globally-unique Scarborough Atoll to help ensure its protection.

Presented by: John McManus of the University of Miami

Co-sponsors: OCTO (OpenChannels, The Skimmer, MPA News) and the EBM Tools Network (co-coordinated by OCTO and NatureServe).