Larval transport and settlement of pearl oysters (Genus Pinctada) in the Gulf of Mannar

The pearl oyster resources of India show wide fluctuations in their annual yields. In the Gulf of Mannar, after 27 years of barrenness, the pearl oyster beds revived most profusely in 1955, but soon became depleted after sustaining a seven-year fishery series. Such fluctuations are common on both the Indian and Sri Lanka coasts of the gulf, where the same species (Pinctada fucata) has contributed to the pearl fisheries since time immemorial