Marine bivalve molluscs of the family Arcidae, subfamily Anadarinae, are an important source
of protein in many tropical, subtropicd and warm temperate areas. On the Pacific coast of Colombia, Anadara tu berculosa (Sowerby), Anadara similis (C.B. Adams), Anadara multicostata (Sowerby) and Anadara grandis (Broderip & Sowerby) are dl harvested on a subsistence basis (Squires et al. 19 75) as is Anadam ?cornea (Reeve) in Fiji (Butler, unpublished data) and Anadara senilis (L.) in West Africa (Okera 1976). Species harvested on an intensive commercial basis include Anadara granosa (L.) in Malaysia and Thailand, Anadara subcrenata (Lischke) in Japan, and Anadam broughtoni (Schrenck) in South Korea. There is some culture of Anadara nodifera (Von Martens) in Thailand (Tookwinas 1985); Anadara satowi (Dunker) is fished in China and South Korea and Anadara antiquata in the Philippines (Toral-Barza and Gomez 1985).
Catch statistics for the most important species are presented in Table 1. Landings for species
and countries not included in this table are insignificant in terms of commercial value. Anadara
granosa is by far the most important anadarinid currently harvested, although A. broughtoni has
become increasingly important in recent years. In Malaysia, all production of A. granosa takes
place on the west coast of the peninsula where there are extensive tidal mudflats. Breakdowns
of landings by state for Malaysia and by province for Thailand are given in Tables 2a, 2b and 2c. Despite the obvious importance of A. granosa and the growing interest in other species of the same genus as a food source, there has been very little research on the group. What little has been undertaken has usually been done on a piecemeal basis. This review collates all the information on anadarinids that is relevant to culture or fishery operations. Because of its importance, emphasis
is laid upon A. granosa.