华人在澳大利亚挖蚬 惹恼当地居民

A storm has been brewing in the otherwise quaint Victorian coastal town of Venus Bay, Australia.

一场风暴正在原本古朴的澳大利亚维多利亚省海岸小镇金星湾酝酿。

And it all centers on the innocuous shellfish - the pipi.

而这场风暴的中心竟是无毒贝类生物--蚬。

At the height of summer, when the conditions are right, More than 2,500 predominately Chinese people can be found digging up the coastline of Venus Bay, 175 km south-east of Melbourne, in search of pipis to eat.

金星湾位于墨尔本东南方向175公里处，盛夏时节，条件成熟时，会有2500多人沿着金星湾海岸线挖蚬来当食材，其中大部分是中国人。

It has prompted a fierce pushback by locals, who insist their concerns about the day trippers are not racist but are instead driven by environmental and social concerns.

这引发了当地人的强烈不满，他们坚称对“一日游”游客的担忧并非源于种族歧视，而是出于环境及社会原因。

Scientists and authorities are now conducting research aimed at eliminating the emotional elements of the debate in an attempt to quantify the ecological impact of pipi harvesting.

科学家和有关部门正在进行研究，试图量化挖蚬的生态影响，消除这场争论中的情感因素。

Ever since the 1960s when the area around Venus Bay was first developed, the inconspicuous shellfish found under the sand at low tide has been harvested both commercially and recreationally for bait.

自20世纪60年代起，金星湾周边地区得到开发，退潮时挖蚬作鱼饵成了这里的一项商业及消遣活动。

But over the past eight years, the town, home to a mere 500 permanent residents, has become a hotspot for pipi harvesting among Melbourne's Chinese community. On a busy summer's day, thousands of pipi harvesters dig up the main beach in search of the shellfish.

金星湾常住居民只有500人，但过去8年，这里成为墨尔本华人的挖蚬胜地。到了热闹的夏季，一天就有数千人在金星湾最大的沙滩“一号滩”挖蚬。

Locals have become frustrated with the stress visiting pipi harvesters place on the town's amenities - the car parks, rubbish bins, public toilets - even claiming it restricts emergency service access to the beach.

前来挖蚬的游客给金星湾的停车场、垃圾桶、公共厕所等设施带来压力，这让当地居民感到困扰。当地人甚至声称，游客阻碍了应急服务进入沙滩。

Beyond the changing dynamic of the town though, there are concerns the rapid increase in pipi harvesting is seeing the species' populations being depleted beyond repair.

除了这些变化，还有人担心挖蚬数量迅速增长使得种群数量减少到无法恢复的程度。

John Morrongiello, a lecturer of marine biology at the University of Melbourne, is conducting a study into the impact of pipi harvesting at Venus Bay. "At the moment there's a degree of he-said, she-said going on; what we really need is some hard facts and that is our role as scientists to do an objective research project."

墨尔本大学海洋生物系讲师约翰·莫伦哲路正在研究挖蚬对金星湾的影响。她表示：“目前存在许多公众争论，我们真正需要的是确切证据，而科学家要做的就是进行客观研究。”