AFTER fierce winds from tropical storm Sinlaku washed up hundreds of thousands of clams on Jomtien beach this morning (August 3) local people joyfully rush in to collect as much as they could with some selling them at a low price to tourists, Sanook.com reported.
Around a hundred Pattaya natives were seen busy collecting the clams at the stretch of the beach in front Wat Mai Had Krathung Thong having brought along their buckets, sacks and bags to do so.
A variety of clams were seen on the beach including blood cockles, ordinary and horse mussels.
Old-timers said this sort of a phenomenon does not occur at this seaside city often, the last time was around three years ago.
While some were taking the clams home for a big meal, others opted to sell them to the tourists who were watching the unusual activity. The more hardworking ones had collected as much as 300 kilogrammes of these clams and were selling them at 35 baht a kg. However they discounted the price to 25 to 30 a kg for those buying 10 or more kgs.
A little later in the day Asst. Prof. Dr. Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a marine ecologist and deputy dean of Kasetsart University’s Faculty of Fisheries said while it is up to the people whether or not they collect these clams they should beware of the dead ones as they may host germs.
Although he would not eat them, he could not say just by looking at photos whether they are consumable or not as samples had to be inspected.
While farmed clams are edible, the dead ones too could be consumed if they have not been poisoned or exposed poisonous plankton, he added.
Meanwhile the Thai Meteorological Department said that the active low-pressure cell downgraded to a low-pressure cell at 1 p.m. and is now hovering over Myanmar and western part of upper North. However there is also a monsoon trough across the Northern region while a strong southwesterly monsoon prevails over the Andaman Sea, Thailand, and the Gulf.
Isolated heavy showers are likely in the North, Northeast, Central, Eastern and Southern regions. People in risky areas should beware of severe conditions and stay tuned for weather updates.
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Pattaya natives busy collecting clams at Jomtien beach today. Photos: Sanook.com
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