Outcry after Chinese tourists pictured hunting rare sea creatures in disputed Paracel Islands

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Published: 12:32pm, 26 Jul 2013Updated: 2:46pm, 27 Jul 2013

Months after the first Chinese tour ship sailed into the disputed Paracel Islands claimed by both China and Vietnam, the country’s online community has expressed fears that tourism could ruin the picturesque South China sea islands.

Concerns have been sparked after a controversial post in which a tourist uploaded photos of his recent trip to the previously unexplored Paracels - often advertised as ”China’s Maldives" - and boasted of hunting sea creatures on the islands.

Aside from the more common activities such as fishing, diving and sea-turtle watching, the post bragged about harvesting and feasting on endangered creatures such as giant clam - also known as Tridacna gigas - and nautilidae. Giant clam is protected by the the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

As of May, China along with 177 other countries signed up to the multilateral agreement that aims to protect 34,000 species of rare animals and plants, which was flouted by the Paracel visitors.

“Giant clams are best when served raw, they taste good with mustard and soy sauce,” the post said. “Most giant clams we picked weighed at least four kilograms.”

Other photos showed the group scooping up sea urchins and touching fishes during scuba diving. They ended up having sea urchin sashimi and steamed sea urchin for dinner one day when camping on an island, according to the post.