Pearl oyster farming and pearl culture

For full text of this article, click the web site mentioned below at official URL/DO1. Pearls, one of the highly esteemed gems, are very valuable due to the high demand and prices for them. Several countries bordering the Indian and Pacific Oceans and some countries along the Eastern Atlantic Ocean have pearl oyster resources. Many of these countries, particularly those in Asia, are very much interested in pearl oyster farming and pearl culture. Japan stands foremost in the two fields having developed technologies and innovations in the field. The techniques of pearl oyster farming and pearl culture are not widely known. There is a need to promote more widely the techniques and relevant information on the bionomics of pearl oysters. In India, interest in pearl culture began at the start of this century. Several studies have been conducted by the Madras Fisheries Department in the 1930s. In 1972, the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) took up intensive research on pearl culture at Tuticorin achieving a breakthrough in July 1973 when it produced free spherical cultured pearls by employing the mantle graft implementation technique. Since then intensive research has been carried out by the Institute on pearl formation, pearl oyster biology and ecology, and hatchery techniques for production of pearl oyster seed. Considerable information of applied value has been obtained. The development of the pearl oyster hatchery technology in India in 1981 opened the way for large and commercial scale culture of this bivalve species. Based on the technical know-how provided by the CMFRI, a company has been established at Tuticorin to produce cultured pearls. In view of the keen-interest shown by countries in the region, the FAO/UNDP Regional Seafarming Development and Demonstration Project (RAS/90/002) requested the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi to conduct a training programme on "Pearl Oyster Farming and Pearl Culture" at the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute in Tuticorin, to train personnel from different countries. In line with this training course, this training manual was prepared. This manual deals with various aspects of pearl oysters, pearl oyster farming, pearl production technology, etc. The Manual is designed for technicians as well as entrepreneurs. please follow the url http://www.fao.org/docrep/field/003/ab726e/ab726e00.ht