Ô Loan Blood Cockle | Product of Vietnam

The blood cockle (Tegillarca granosa, Vietnamese: sò huyết) is a special species of ark clam which has the red haemoglobin liquid (commonly called blood) inside the soft tissues. The blood cockle is the main clam species raised throughout Vietnam. Phú Yên, a central Vietnamese province, is one of several places where blood cockle aquaculture is popular.

Ô Loan Lagoon

Ô Loan is the name of a lagoon in Tuy An district, Phú Yên province. It is a coastal body of water created by the estuary basin. It is separated from the sea by a strip of sand. The bottom of the lagoon is relatively flat and quite shallow, its depth is from 1.2m – 1.4m. Ô Loan lagoon belongs to the seaweed – seagrass ecosystem and has a rich and diverse food source.

During the feudal periods, when imperial officers came to Phu Yen, they often went to Ô Loan lagoon to enjoy the scenery and enjoy blood cockles as a local delicacy.

The Blood Cockle And Cockle Aquaculture

The constituents in 100g Ô Loan blood cockle meat is as follows: Protein content from 11.19% to 13.07%; Lipid fat content from 1.03% to 1.29%; Vitamin A content from 88.53IU/100g – 103.24IU/100g; Vitamin B12 content from 0.40IU/100g – 0.50IU/100g; Ca content from 11.46mg/100g – 14.81mg/100g; Fe content from 3.67µg/100g – 4.77µg/100g; water content from 78.65% – 80.67%.

In 1997, the blood cockle was one of the factors that were added to the value of brackish Ô Loan lagoon to be recognized as a national scenic spot.

Blood cockle farming has a long history in Ô Loan lagoon, and the local aquaculturists here have great experience in selecting blood cockles seeds, choosing places to raise, caring for and exploiting blood cockles in season to raise fat and nutritious cockles.

Blood cockle farmers conduct monthly water environment assessment and equipment check every 3 months. Blood cockles are only exploited when the length of cockles reaches 3cm or more. And the minimum of culturing time is at least 12 months. Farming materials used to pack blood cockles must be clean and ventilated. Products labels on each bag/box of blood cockles must be printed in non-toxic ink.

The Ô Loan lagoon blood cockle is protected for geographic identity. The protected geographical area includes: An Ninh Đông, An Hòa, An Cư, An Hiệp, An Hải communes in Tuy An district, Phú Yên province.