Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Consumption of Mollusks and Potential Utilization of Resulting Shell Wastes for Shellcraft within a Pacific Islands Context

  • Published:
Human Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Bivalves (Mollusca: Bivalvia) and gastropods (Mollusca: Gastropoda) are a common component of diets in the Pacific Islands region. After consuming the soft tissue of these organisms, their shells are commonly discarded. We consider how such discards, or shell wastes, might serve as a resource for value-adding activities and focus on a case study of shell wastes being utilized for shellcraft in the Tigak Islands of Papua New Guinea. Through an interview-based approach, we investigate the composition and quantities of shell wastes generated by households, the extent these shell wastes are already integrated with shellcraft, and whether continued generation of these shell wastes remains possible. We found consumption of bivalves and gastropods varies among households, in both composition and quantities, such that each household generates unique shell wastes. However, shell wastes are seldom utilized for shellcraft, with substantial variation between the species consumed and the extent their shell wastes are utilized within households (F = 16.2, P < 0.01). For roughly half (n = 15) of all species consumed (n = 31), significant quantities of unutilized shell wastes coincided with positive perceptions of stock status. We argue that integrating shell wastes with shellcraft is a viable pathway to support livelihood enhancement. Our findings in this local context have regional significance in providing useful insights for guiding interventions to assist households better integrate shell wastes with shellcraft.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Availability Statement

The original contributions presented in this study are included in the article and Supplementary Material. Further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Notes

  1. This refers to a common practice of amassing edible mollusks in baskets made from palm fronds (Tilley et al., 2020).

References

  • Alati, V. M., Olunga, J., Olendo, M., Daudi, L. N., Osuka, K., Odoli, C., Tuda, P., & Nordlund, L. M. (2020). Mollusc shell fisheries in coastal Kenya: Local ecological knowledge reveals overfishing. Ocean & Coastal Management, 195, 105285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2020.105285

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allison, E. H., & Ellis, F. (2001). The livelihoods approach and management of small-scale fisheries. Marine Policy, 25, 377–388. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0308-597X(01)00023-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Amesbury, J. R., Walth, C. K., & Bayman, J. M. (2020). Marine shell ornaments and the political economy of gendered power in the Mariana Islands. The Journal of Island and Coastal Archaeology, 17(4), 537–556. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564894.2020.1838972

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andrew, N. L., Bright, P., de la Rua, L., Teoh, S. J., & Vickers, M. (2019). Coastal proximity of populations in 22 Pacific Island Countries and Territories. PLoS ONE, 14(9), e0223249. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0223249

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Aswani, S., & Vaccaro, I. (2008). Lagoon Ecology and Social Strategies: Habitat Diversity and Ethnobiology. Human Ecology, 36(3), 325–341. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-007-9159-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bao, K., & Drew, J. (2017). Traditional ecological knowledge, shifting baselines, and conservation of Fijian molluscs. Pacific Conservation Biology, 23(1), 81–87. https://doi.org/10.1071/pc16016

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barclay, K., McClean, N., Foale, S., Sulu, R., & Lawless, S. (2018). Lagoon livelihoods: Gender and shell money in Langalanga. Solomon Islands. Maritime Studies, 17(2), 199–211. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40152-018-0111-y

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burgos, A., Younger, A. C., & Wolverton, S. (2019). Human Mollusk Interactions in a Changing World. Journal of Ethnobiology, 39(2). https://doi.org/10.2993/0278-0771-39.2.175

  • Clarke, K. R., Somerfield, P. J., & Chapman, M. G. (2006). On resemblance measures for ecological studies, including taxonomic dissimilarities and a zero-adjusted Bray-Curtis coefficient for denuded assemblages. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 330(1), 55–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jembe.2005.12.017

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crawford, B., Herrera, M. D., Hernandez, N., Leclair, C. R., Jiddawi, N., Masumbuko, S., & Haws, M. (2010). Small Scale Fisheries Management: Lessons from Cockle Harvesters in Nicaragua and Tanzania. Coastal Management, 38(3), 195–215. https://doi.org/10.1080/08920753.2010.483174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dalzell, P., Adams, T. J. H., & Polunin, N. V. C. (1996). Coastal Fisheries in the Pacific Islands. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review, 34, 395–531.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Guzman, A. B., Sumalde, Z. M., Rance, G. M. S., Colance, M. D. B., & Ponce, M. F. V. (2019). Contribution of Gleaning Fisheries to Food Security and Nutrition of Poor Coastal Communities in the Philippines. Journal of Environmental Science and Management, 1, 58–71. https://doi.org/10.47125/jesam/2019_sp1/06

  • Fay, L., Vuki, V., Sauni, S., & Tebano, T. (2007). Anadara fishing supports urban households in Tarawa, Kiribati and Suva, Fiji. SPC Women in Fisheries Information Bulletin, 17, 19–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • FFA & SPC. (2015). A Regional Roadmap for Sustainable Pacific Fisheries. Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency and Secretariat of the Pacific Community.

  • Floren, A. S. (2003). The Philippine shell industry with special focus on Mactan, Cebu. Department of Environment and Natural Resources of United States Agency for International Development.

  • Fox, J., & Weisberg, S. (2019). A R Companion to Applied Regression, Third Edition (Third (Edition). SAGE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frijlink, S. (2015). A preliminary assessment of catch and effort data collected at 11 sites throughout the Tigak and Tsoi Islands to better understand local subsistence and artisanal fisheries. Wildlife Conservation Society.

  • Fröcklin, S., de la Torre-Castro, M., Hakansson, E., Carlsson, A., Magnusson, M., & Jiddawi, N. S. (2014). Towards improved management of tropical invertebrate fisheries: Including time series and gender. PLoS ONE, 9(3), e91161. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0091161

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Fröcklin, S., Jiddawi, N. S., & de la Torre-Castro, M. (2018). Small-scale innovations in coastal communities: Shell-handicraft as a way to empower women and decrease poverty. Ecology and Society, 23(2), 34. https://doi.org/10.5751/es-10136-230234

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Furkon, N. M. N., & Ambo-Rappe, R. (2019). Invertebrate Gleaning: Forgotten Fisheries. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 253, 012029. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/253/1/012029

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gillett, R. & Tauati, M. I. (2018). Fisheries of the Pacific Islands regional and national information. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.

  • Grulke, W. (2022). Adorned by nature: Adornment, exchange & myth in the South Seas. United Kingdom: At One Communications.

  • Haden, R. (2009). Food Culture in the Pacific Islands. ABC-CLIO.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Hair, C., Foale, S., Kinch, J., Frijlink, S., Lindsay, D., & Southgate, P. C. (2019). Socioeconomic impacts of a sea cucumber fishery in Papua New Guinea: Is there an opportunity for mariculture? Ocean & Coastal Management, 179, 104826. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2019.104826

  • Harding, S., Marama, K., Breckwoldt, A., Matairakula, U., & Fache, E. (2022). Marine resources and their value in Kadavu. Fiji. Ambio, 51(12), 2414–2430. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-022-01794-0

    Article  ADS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Horton, T., Gofas, S., Kroh, A., Poore, G. C., Read, G., Rosenberg, G., et al. (2022). World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). https://www.marinespecies.org

  • Jimenez, H., Dumas, P., Léopold, M., & Ferraris, J. (2011). Invertebrate harvesting on tropical urban areas: Trends and impact on natural populations (New Caledonia, South Pacific). Fisheries Research, 108(1), 195–204. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2010.12.021

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, B. L. H., Unsworth, R. K. F., Nordlund, L. M., Eklöf, J. S., Ambo-Rappe, R., Carly, F., Jiddawi, N. S., La Nafie, Y. A., Udagedara, S., & Cullen-Unsworth, L. C. (2022). Dependence on seagrass fisheries governed by household income and adaptive capacity. Ocean & Coastal Management, 225, 106247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2022.106247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaly, U., Opnai, J., Des Roches, K., Preston, G., & Burgess, D. (2005). Small-scale fisheries related socio-economic survey of New Ireland Province, Papua New Guinea. National Fisheries Authority.

  • Kinch, J. (2003). Marine mollusc use among the women of Brooker Island, Louisiade Archipelago, Papua New Guinea. SPC Women in Fisheries Information Bulletin, 13, 5–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kinch, J., & Burgess, E. A. (2009). An assessment of the trade in hawksbill turtles in Papua New Guinea. TRAFFIC Bulletin, 22(2), 62–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleiber, D., Harris, L. M., & Vincent, A. C. J. (2015). Gender and small-scale fisheries: A case for counting women and beyond. FISH and FISHERIES, 16(4), 547–562. https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12075

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kronen, M., Vunisea, A., Magron, F., & McArdle, B. (2010). Socio-economic drivers and indicators for artisanal coastal fisheries in Pacific island countries and territories and their use for fisheries management strategies. Marine Policy, 34(6), 1135–1143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2010.03.013

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lau, J., Bonis-Profumo, G., Gomese, C., Kitolelei, S., O’Leary, T., da Silva, A. P., Simões, N., & Burgos, A. (2023). Gleaning fisheries in the Asia-Pacific. SPC Women in Fisheries Information Bulletin, 38, 23–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mikhailovich, K., Mackenzie, E., & Smith, D. (2022). Enhancing coastal livelihoods through half-pearl aquaculture and handicrafts in Tonga and Fiji. Development in Practice, 33(1), 110–121. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2022.2128721

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Militz, T. A., Kershler, D. A., & Southgate, P. C. (2021). Informing artisanal pearl and pearl-shell handicraft production for the cruise tourism market through analysis of intended purchase behavior. Tourism in Marine Environments, 16(1), 45–58. https://doi.org/10.3727/154427320x15958571868603

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mills, D. J., Westlund, L., Graaf, G. d., Kura, Y., Willman, R., & Kelleher, K. (2011). "Under-reported and undervalued: small-scale fisheries in the developing world" in Small-scale fisheries management: frameworks and approaches for the developing world, eds. R. S. Pomeroy, and N. I. Andrew (United Kingdom: CAB International), 1–15.

  • Moesinger, A. (2018). Catching names: Folk taxonomy of marine fauna on Takuu Atoll, Papua New Guinea. SPC Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge Information Bulletin, 39, 2–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Müller, P., Staudigel, P. T., Murray, S. T., Vernet, R., Barusseau, J. P., Westphal, H., & Swart, P. K. (2017). Prehistoric cooking versus accurate palaeotemperature records in shell midden constituents. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 3555. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-03715-8

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Munro, J. L. (1994). Utilization of coastal molluscan resources in the tropical insular Pacific and its impact on biodiversity. Paper presented at the Pacific Science Association Workshop on Marine and Coastal Biodiversity in the Tropical Island Pacific Region: Population, Development and Conservation, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.

  • Natarajan, P., & Thiagarajan, R. (1979). Methods of shell cleaning and polishing. Seafood Export Journal, 11(6), 19–25.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nordlund, L. M., & Gullström, M. (2013). Biodiversity loss in seagrass meadows due to local invertebrate fisheries and harbour activities. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 135, 231–240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2013.10.019

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Oksanen, J., Blanchet, F. G., Friendly, M., KIndt, R., Legendre, P., McGlinn, D., Minchin, P. R., O'Hara, R. B., Simpson, G. L., Solymos, P., Stevens, M. H., Szoecs, E., & Wagner, H. (2022). vegan: Community ecology package. R package version 2.6–2. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=vegan

  • Oordt, C. (2021). Turbo shell scrapers from the Society Islands: An ethnohistorical and microfossil analysis approach. (Publication No. 1581) [Undergraduate Honors Theses, William & Mary]. W&M Scholar Works.

  • Porter, B. A., Oramsa, M. B., Lücka, M., & Andreinib, E. M. (2022). Trash or Treasure? A Qualitative Exploration of Gleaning By-Products in Tourism Supply Chains in Remote Filipino Fishing Communities. Advances in Southeast Asian Studies, 15(1), 87–102. https://doi.org/10.14764/10.ASEAS-0056

  • Purcell, S., Tiitii, S., Aiafi, J., Tone, A., Tony, A., Lesa, M., Esau, C., Cullis, B., Gogel, B., Seinor, K., Ceccarelli, D., & Tagliafico, A. (2019). Ecological and socioeconomic impacts of trochus introductions to Samoa - A project of the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research. SPC Fisheries Newsletter, 160, 36–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Purcell, S. W., Tagliafico, A., Cullis, B. R., & Gogel, B. J. (2021). Socioeconomic impacts of resource diversification from small-scale fishery development. Ecology and Society, 26(1), 14. https://doi.org/10.5751/es-12183-260114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Purdy, D. H., Hadley, D. J., Kenter, J. O., & Kinch, J. (2017). Sea cucumber moratorium and livelihood diversity in Papua New Guinea. Coastal Management, 45(2), 161–177. https://doi.org/10.1080/08920753.2017.1278147

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • R Core Team. (2022). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria: R Foundation for Statistical Computing. Retrieved from https://www.R-project.org/

  • Roscher, M. B., Allison, E. H., Mills, D. J., Eriksson, H., Hellebrandt, D., & Andrew, N. L. (2022a). Sustainable development outcomes of livelihood diversification in small-scale fisheries. FISH and FISHERIES, 23(4), 910–925. https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.12662

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roscher, M. B., Eriksson, H., Harohau, D., Mauli, S., Kaltavara, J., Boonstra, W. J., & van der Ploeg, J. (2022b). Unpacking pathways to diversified livelihoods from projects in Pacific Island coastal fisheries. Ambio, 51, 2107–2117. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-022-01727-x

    Article  ADS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sharp, M., & Mariojouls, C. (2012). Waste not, want not: Better utilisation of fish waste in the Pacific. SPC Fisheries Newsletter, 138, 44–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, B., & Langley, M. C. (2017). Investigating the development of prehistoric cultural practices in the Massim region of eastern Papua New Guinea: Insights from the manufacture and use of shell objects in the Louisiade Archipelago. Journal of Anthropological Archaeology, 48, 149–165. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaa.2017.07.005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simard, N. S. M., Militz, T. A., Kinch, J., & Southgate, P. C. (2019). Artisanal, shell-based handicraft in Papua New Guinea: Challenges and opportunities for livelihoods development. Ambio, 48(4), 374–384. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-018-1078-z

    Article  ADS  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Simard, N. S. M., Militz, T. A., Kinch, J., & Southgate, P. C. (2021). From past to present: Construction of a dataset documenting mother-of-pearl exports from a Pacific Island nation, Papua New Guinea. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8, 762610. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.762610

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simard, N. S. M., Militz, T. A., Kinch, J., & Southgate, P. C. (2022). Utilization of marine taxa within artisanal shellcraft sector of the Indo-Pacific region. Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, 1074996. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.1074996

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simpson, G. L. (2022). permute: Functions for generating restricted permutations of data. R package version 0.9–7. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=permute

  • Southgate, P. C., Kishore, P., Sharma, S., & Simos, T. (2019). Empowering women through pearl industry-based livelihoods in Fiji. SPC Women in Fisheries Information Bulletin, 29, 24–29.

    Google Scholar 

  • Southgate, P. C., Militz, T. A., Kishore, P., & Wingfield, M. (2023). Final report for project FIS/2014/060 "Developing pearl industry-based livelihoods in the Western Pacific". ACIAR.

  • SPC. (2015). A new song for coastal fisheries – pathways to change: The Noumea strategy. Secretariat of the Pacific Community.

  • Stiepani, J., Jiddawi, N., & Mtwana Nordlund, L. (2022). Social-ecological system analysis of an invertebrate gleaning fishery on the island of Unguja, Zanzibar. Ambio, 52, 140–154. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-022-01769-1

    Article  ADS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sulu, R. J., Eriksson, H., Schwarz, A. M., Andrew, N. L., Orirana, G., Sukulu, M., Oeta, J., Harohau, D., Sibiti, S., Toritela, A., & Beare, D. (2015). Livelihoods and fisheries governance in a contemporary Pacific Island setting. PLoS ONE, 10(11), e0143516. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0143516

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Swadling, P. (1994). Changing shellfish resources and their exploitation for food and artifact production in Papua New Guinea. Man and Culture in Oceania, 10, 127–150.

    Google Scholar 

  • Szabó, K. (2018). Shell money and context in Western Island Melanesia. Oceanic Art and European MuseumsIn L. Carreau, A. Clark, A. Jelinek, E. Lilje, & N. Thomas (Eds.), Pacific Presences - (Vol. 2, pp. 25–38). Sidestone Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Szabó, K. & Amesbury, J. R. (2011). Molluscs in a world of islands: the use of shellfish as a food resource in the tropical island Asia-Pacific region. Quaternary International, 239(1–2), 8–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2011.02.033

  • Teitelbaum, A., & Fale, P. N. (2008). Support for the Tongan pearl industry. SPC Pearl Oyster Information Bulletin, 18, 11–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thaman, B., Thaman, R. R., Balawa, A., & Veitayaki, J. (2017). The recovery of a tropical marine mollusk fishery: A transdisciplinary community-based approach in Navakavu. Fiji. Journal of Ethnobiology, 37(3), 494–513. https://doi.org/10.2993/0278-0771-37.3.494

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, F. R. (2001). Mollusk Habitats and Fisheries in Kiribati: An Assessment from the Gilbert Islands. Pacific Science, 55(1), 77–97. https://doi.org/10.1353/psc.2001.0010

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, F. R. (2006). The Behavioral Ecology of Shellfish Gathering in Western Kiribati, Micronesia 1: Prey Choice. Human Ecology, 35(2), 179–194. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-006-9066-5

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  • Tilley, A., Burgos, A., Duarte, A., Reis Lopes, J., & d., Eriksson, H., & Mills, D. (2020). Contribution of women’s fisheries substantial, but overlooked. Timor-Leste. Ambio, 50(1), 113–124. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-020-01335-7

    Article  ADS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tiraa-Passfield, A. (1996). The uses of shells in traditional Tuvaluan handicrafts. SPC Traditional Marine Resource Management and Knowledge Information Bulletin, 7, 2–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Venkatesen, V. (2010). Marine ornamental molluscs. National Training Programme on Marine Ornamental Fish Culture, 27–32.

  • Warton, D. I., Wright, S. T., & Wang, Y. (2012). Distance-based multivariate analyses confound location and dispersion effects. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 3(1), 89–101. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2041-210X.2011.00127.x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wells, S. M. (1982). Marine Conservation in the Philippines and Papua New Guinea with special emphasis on the ornamental coral and shell trade: Report on a visit to the Philippines and Papua New Guinea May-July 1981 funded through a Winston Churchill Travelling Fellowship grant. IUCN.

  • Wright, A., Chapau, M. R., Dalzell, P. J., & Richards, A. H. (1983). The marine resources of the New Ireland Province. Report on present utilisation and potential for development (Report No. 83–13). Department of Primary Industry.

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thankfully acknowledge Michael Mangun as community chairman of the Nusalik and Nusalavu islands for facilitating interactions with artisan households, and staff at the National Fisheries Authority Nago Island Mariculture and Research Facility for facilitating access to research sites. We appreciate the valuable comments from the two reviewers.

Funding

This study was completed as part of a PhD thesis by the lead author, partly funded by an Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship awarded through the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC). Additional support was obtained from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and the Papua New Guinea National Fisheries Authority (NFA) through ACIAR Projects FIS/2014/060 and FIS/2019/122 led by Paul C. Southgate at the UniSC.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Science, Technology & Engineering and Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Down, QLD, Australia

    Nittya S. M. Simard, Thane A. Militz & Paul C. Southgate

  2. National Fisheries College, National Fisheries Authority, Kavieng, Papua New Guinea

    Jeff Kinch

  3. Present address: Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Sub-Regional Office for the Pacific Islands, Apia, Samoa, USA

    Jeff Kinch

Authors
  1. Nittya S. M. Simard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Thane A. Militz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jeff Kinch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Paul C. Southgate
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

NSMS conceptualized this study, collected data, and performed statistical analysis with TAM. NSMS wrote the manuscript with support from TAM, JK, and PCS. All authors contributed to manuscript revision and approved the submitted version.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nittya S. M. Simard.

Ethics declarations

Ethics Approval

Research activities associated with this study were reviewed and approved by University of the Sunshine Coast’s Human Research Ethics Committee (S191337). Authorization to conduct research activities in Papua New Guinea (PNG) was obtained through a Memorandum of Subsidiary Agreement (FIS/2014/060) between the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research and the PNG National Fisheries Authority. Permissions to engage with residents of the Tigak Islands were obtained from elected and traditional community leaders prior to obtaining informed consent from households for their participation in this study.

Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary Information

Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

Supplementary file1 (DOCX 16 KB)

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Simard, N.S.M., Militz, T.A., Kinch, J. et al. Consumption of Mollusks and Potential Utilization of Resulting Shell Wastes for Shellcraft within a Pacific Islands Context. Hum Ecol 51, 1057–1069 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-023-00457-2

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-023-00457-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation