
Lyrate Hard Clams
Vietnam | Wild | MSC
Meretrix lyrata
Tracking Code W-MXL01DRH
Story of Origin
Our delicious bite-sized clams grow on tidal mud flats at the mouth of the Mekong River. Trần Thế Vinh belongs to the Đồng Tâm fishing cooperative that manages the Bến Tre clam area. Vinh’s family relies on the income from the clams he gathers by hand at low tide and sends to a local processing plant where they are washed and packed for export. Trần Thế Vinh and the 9,400 other community members follow strict harvesting rules while protecting nearby mangroves that are critical for keeping the clam’s ecosystem healthy.
Good to know
This wild clam fishery was the first in Asia to be MSC certified. In a triumph for the local government, eleven cooperatives collectively manage three large natural clam growing areas in Bến Tre Province. The entire community participates in the harvest of clams on the mud flats, collecting them in large bags and buckets. Community members are proud of their success and enjoy eating the clams they collect; the preferred method is to cook the clams in broth, serving them with a Vietnamese sauce made of chili salt and local limes, along with a beer poured over ice.
