There is a lot more work put into creating those beautiful pearl necklaces than meets the eye. Saltwater pearls can take between 5 to 20 years to form and require consistent maintenance.
Kamoka Pearl is a boutique family business located in the French Polynesian atoll of Ahe that is dedicated to creating a more environmentally sound way of pearl cultivation. Josh Humbert, lead pearl farmer shares that raising pearls begins with placing oysters in baskets or nets to protect them from outside predators such as sea turtles, triggerfish, and eagle rays. The nets are hung vertically extending 30 to 60 meters down on the ocean floor. After pearls are harvested, the
oyster is usually consumed locally because it is unlikely that it will produce another pearl with such value.
However, an obstacle pearl farmers often come across is that the nets with all of their oysters become encrusted with barnacles, sponges, and other such marine organisms. If not cleaned in adequate time, the oysters will not produce large pearls. When the oysters are skillfully handled and removed of the organisms, the rinse adds a lot of organic material that can sometimes be too much for the area to handle and will result in deoxygenation. (aka “dead zone”) It has often been known to spread high numbers of unwanted invertebrate that can disturb the ecological equilibrium where the pearl farm is located. However, Mr. Humbert coincidentally stumbled across a solution to this problem. By placing the oysters in more shallow water, there is a more diverse and suitable species of fish that clean the oysters naturally.
In my opinion, this process works for both ends of the spectrum. The farmers aren’t upsetting the surrounding ocean in any way, yet still are able to supply a prospering business. If anything, pearl farming is helping the ecosystem due to the fact that the fish “eat as they go” and does not cause any nutrients to overload the water. Humbert says “ What’s really cool is that, because there are different kinds of fouling organisms on the oysters, they feed different kinds of fish. You get a fair distribution of food, and we started seeing the numbers of fish getting stronger.”
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/08/130811-eco-friendly-pearl-farming-kamoka-polynesia-oysters-environment/
Hannah I found this article to be extremely interesting. I see pearl necklaces everywhere, but never really thought of how they obtained the pearls in the first place. Pearl farming. What a strange thing to think of. I agree with you that this is a win-win situation. Fish are thriving as well as Humbert's business. Great job!
ReplyDeleteHannah what a great article, I can’t believe such a simple alteration could have such a positive environmental impact. I am glad it benefits both the environment and the farm because then it will act as an incentive for all pearl farms to adopt the same method for cleaning the oysters. I also like the last mini article at the bottom promoting the website www.sustainablepearls.org, this site would also have the same double impact of providing the consumer with a way to track where the pearl originated thus improving the pearl market and promoting responsible production of pearls. I think this website should also include, or another website should also be created for the different pearl farmers to share their new innovations on how they make better quality pearls that are environmentally friendly; that way if another new innovation is discovered it can quickly be implemented by all pearl farmers.
ReplyDeleteWow, this article is so interesting. It's crazy to think of how the pearls that lay around many girls necks actually came to be. This is such a great and positive change to the environment. Many articles I read are explaining all of the terrible things wrong with our environment, and it is nice to actually read one that states a positive thing about the environment! Nice article!
ReplyDeleteI never knew that it could take so long for a pearl to be formed! It just makes me think about how the farmers know when they are ready. Or if they, like, hand pick the oysters they think will make the best ones? Anyway this idea sounds like a great one to me. It’s a win all around. The pearl farmers get a greater number of quality pearls, while still protecting them. The oysters are apparently fine in the shallow water; they even helped the animals surrounding them! I always disagree with the use of harsh chemicals to do a job. Especially on a living organism, so I’m glad that this solution was figured out. Not only does it help the fish in the part of the ocean they moved to, it would also help those animals farther out! While this article focused on the oysters, it talked about how many animals became attached to the nets and died because of it!
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