China’s Nature Reserve at Scarborough—More than a Decade Too Late

On September 10, China announced the establishment of a nature reserve at Scarborough Shoal. The area in question, however, conspicuously overlaps with an area that has sustained major damage from Chinese clam harvesting.

The Nature Reserve

The reserve covers an area of about 8,700 acres along the northeastern side of Scarborough. It consists of two parts: a "core zone" covering the fringing reef itself, and what China calls an "experimental zone" around it extending 400-800 yards into the waters on either side. Notably, the reserve does not cover the entrance to the lagoon.

The zones have their origins in China's 1994 Regulations on Nature Reserves (last revised in 2017), which give some indication as to the restrictions Beijing aims to apply to each zone. According to the text of the regulations, the "core zone" is off limits to all human presence, including scientific activity, without advance notice and approval from provincial or municipal authorities. The "experimental zone" is more permissive, allowing for scientific research, the breeding/cultivation of rare and endangered species, and even tourism.

Clam Damage

The site of the nature reserve, however, is precisely the area of the South China Sea that has suffered the most from destructive Chinese clam harvesting practices.

In 2023, AMTI measured about 16,350 acres of clam harvesting damage visible in satellite imagery across 39 shallow reefs in the South China Sea. Damage at Scarborough Shoal amounted to about 1,900 acres-more than any other reef.

The damage from clam harvesting consists of arc shaped scars, created when clam fishers dig up the reef surface by dragging specially made brass propellers in a semicircle around the anchor chain on the front of their boats. This method destroys not only the reef area directly contacted by the harvesting, but also surrounding areas of coral that are smothered by the resulting plumes of abrasive sediment. The technique is known to be used by Chinese fishers aiming to access giant clam shells buried within the reef to fuel a lucrative market in China for jewelry and statuary.

Chinese clam harvesting surged from 2012 to 2015, but satellite imagery showed active harvesting at Scarborough as late as 2019. And any clam harvesting at Scarborough took place under the eye of the China Coast Guard, which has maintained a permanent presence at the shoal since seizing control of it from the Philippines in 2012.

Conclusion

Scarborough Shoal and many other areas of the South China Sea are long overdue for conservation-but protective measures would have been much more valuable before the reef had been thoroughly scoured by clam harvesters. As it is, the effect of China's nature reserve on the marine environment is perhaps less clear than its likely impact on maritime tensions.

This nature reserve builds upon Beijing's declaration of territorial baselines at Scarborough in 2024 in an effort to formalize Chinese administration over the disputed reef. It will likely serve as a pretext to further restrict the activities of Philippine fishers in violation of the 2016 award from a tribunal at the Permanent Court of Arbitration, which ruled that China must respect Philippine traditional fishing rights at Scarborough. At the same time, Manila will now have even more incentive to ensure its fishers can still operate at the shoal to prevent China from realizing its claimed administration of the area-a recipe that all but ensures continued run-ins between Chinese and Philippine law enforcement.