Sinandigan Giant Clams

Overview

The Sinandigan Giant Clams sanctuary sits within the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) Multispecies Hatchery in Barangay Sinandigan, Ubay, on Bohol’s eastern coast. The Bohol Giant Clams Hatchery Multipurpose Building was inaugurated in September 2024 and supports the propagation and protection of giant clams — known locally as taklobo (Tridacna gigas).

The sanctuary sits in a bay next to a white sand beach. Visitors can walk through the facility and observe clams across a range of sizes and colors. The hatchery program tracks both adult and juvenile populations province-wide: as of the source date, 124 adult and 370 juvenile giant clams are distributed across 10 Marine Protected Areas in Bohol.

The program traces back to 2013, when 200 giant clams were flown in from Bolinao, Pangasinan aboard a Philippine Air Force C-130 — a logistics operation significant enough to mark the founding date of the province’s giant clam conservation effort. Bolinao’s marine laboratory has functioned as one of the Philippines’ main giant clam breeding sources since the 1980s, and moving live broodstock by military transport rather than commercial freight signals how seriously the transfer was treated — a one-off effort to seed an entirely new provincial population from scratch.

Why the Clams Needed Rescuing

Giant clams were once common across Philippine reefs, but decades of open collection for meat, the aquarium trade, and their shells — sold as ornaments and, historically, ground for lime — pushed wild populations toward local extinction before any legal protection existed. Tridacna gigas and related species are now protected under Philippine fisheries law, and taking them from the wild, alive or as shell, is illegal. That legal shift came only after the damage was largely done, which is why Bohol’s population had to be rebuilt from outside founding stock rather than recovering on its own.

Location

Barangay Sinandigan, Ubay municipality, eastern Bohol. The BFAR Multispecies Hatchery sits on the coast, adjacent to a bay with a white sand beach. Sinandigan Mangrove Reforestation is nearby.

Getting There

Ubay is in eastern Bohol, approximately 90 km from Tagbilaran City via the trans-island highway. Travel by public bus or private vehicle to Ubay town, then proceed to Barangay Sinandigan. The exact distance from Ubay town center and tricycle availability to the site aren’t documented; ask locally in Ubay for the current route and fare.

Practical Info

• Barangay: Sinandigan, Ubay
• Facility: BFAR Multispecies Hatchery
• Hatchery building inaugurated: September 2024
• Program started: 2013
• Founding stock: 200 clams from Bolinao, Pangasinan (via PAF C-130)
• Provincial MPA count: 10 MPAs with 124 adult + 370 juvenile giant clams
• Entrance fee: not consistently published; confirm current rates locally or with the BFAR facility before visiting.

What to Expect

A working government hatchery facility with a visitor component. Guests walk through to observe giant clams at various growth stages. The bay setting adds a coastal dimension — the white sand beach next to the sanctuary allows for a short stop on the way out. This is an educational and conservation-focused visit rather than a commercial attraction.

Sinandigan Mangrove Reforestation is nearby, allowing a combined eco-tourism stop in the same barangay.

A Government Facility, Not a Tourism Business

Unlike most entries on a typical Bohol attractions list, the Sinandigan sanctuary was not built to generate visitor revenue. It operates as a working BFAR research and propagation station, with public viewing added on top of its actual mandate: breeding and distributing clams to protected areas across the province. Staff are marine biologists and hatchery technicians rather than tour guides, and the facility’s core measure of success is clam survival and growth, not visitor numbers — which is also why fee information is inconsistently published; it isn’t the point of the place.

Notes

• Giant clams (taklobo) are protected under Philippine law; collection and trade are prohibited.
• The transport of founding stock by military aircraft in 2013 reflects the scale of commitment to restoring this species in Bohol waters.
• Source: BPTO Table 11 — Inventory of Tourist Attractions (2025 Bohol Tourism Profile)