.
THE PEARL FARM
Selecting a pearl farm site is extremely important as there are many important
factors which must be considered, of which will determine the type of pearls
produced, and the oyster survival rate. Some of these environmental factors are:
a) The relief of the region: Natural features, such as mountains and reefs, are
needed to protect the farm from winds, currents, storms, etc.
b) Constant regularity of temperature
c) Type of sea bed, such as rocky or sandy.
d) Presence of gentle currents: Currents are essential for the survival of the
oysters as they bring food and oxygen.
The whole pearl farm system is based on a series of floating wooden rafts. Ten
basic units, each 20ft times 20 ft, are joined together in two rows of five, to
complete one raft. 100 plastic covered wire mesh baskets, each of which house
10 oysters, are suspended from each unit. 8-10 empty metal drums are used for
unit flotation and each raft is moored by iron anchors.
A typical work schedule for a pearl farm can be seen as follows:
January - Prepare for wild shell collection, organise dive crews, fishing gear, paperwork, and licence fees.
February - Fishing for 20,000 wild shell begins, linked to tide patterns. (Note: Tides in the area can vary by 10m per day)
March - Collected shell is 'dumped' on the seabed or site leased by the company and allowed to rest. Maintenance of dumped shells, turning and cleaning them. X-ray shells seeded last year to check if implanted nuclei have been rejected. Oysters which reject nuclei are usually re-seeded.
April - Water temperature begins to drop as winter approaches, rest period for the shells.
May - Ongoing farm work, turning and cleaning previous two years' seeded oysters kept suspended in wire panels in the water column.
June - Prepare for operating on oysters to implant nuclei. (Note: Some technicians may come from overseas, and some companies have boats fitted as mobile laboratories so seeding can be done on the pearling grounds.) Seeding and harvesting begin.
July - Normal operating time for pearls, seeding new oyster, re-seeding those which have rejected nuclei. Oysters which produce acceptable pearls are also re-seeded.
August - Harvest of previous year's seeded shell continues, then a two month turning program follows operations. The oysters are turned over to encourage production of round pearls.
September - Turning operated shell.
October - Turning, cleaning, and change of areas.
November - Transportation of operated shell to grow-out areas.
December - Oysters into longline system. Clean gear.
