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Stimulating investment in pearl farming in ... - World Fish Center

Stimulating investment in pearl farming in ... - World Fish Center

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Abundance, Size Structure and Quality of Silver-lip Pearl Oysters <strong>in</strong> the Solomon Islands F<strong>in</strong>al, June 2008SUMMARYThe European Union has funded a project entitled ‘<strong>Stimulat<strong>in</strong>g</strong> <strong><strong>in</strong>vestment</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>pearl</strong> farm<strong>in</strong>g<strong>in</strong> the Solomon Islands’. The objective of this project is to provide offshore <strong>pearl</strong> companieswith sufficient <strong>in</strong>formation to determ<strong>in</strong>e the potential for long-term <strong><strong>in</strong>vestment</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>pearl</strong>farm<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> the Solomon Islands. The <strong>World</strong><strong>Fish</strong> Centre sub-contracted The Ecology Lab Ptyto:• participate <strong>in</strong> underwater visual census and remote video census of the majorhistorical fish<strong>in</strong>g grounds for silver-lip <strong>pearl</strong> oysters (P<strong>in</strong>ctada maxima) <strong>in</strong> theSolomon Islands;• analyse data from these surveys and calculate the abundance of silver-lip <strong>pearl</strong>oyster stocks, the number of susta<strong>in</strong>able quotas of silver-lip <strong>pearl</strong> oysters that couldbe allocated for <strong>pearl</strong> farm<strong>in</strong>g and the proportion of oysters at each site with thepreferred silver nacre; and• prepare a report describ<strong>in</strong>g the results of the surveys and analyses performed.Divers equipped with surface-supplied compressed air (hookah) conducted visual censusesof silver-lip oyster stocks on eight historical fish<strong>in</strong>g grounds: Malaita, Marau Sound, MboliPassage, Sandfly Passage, Tel<strong>in</strong>a Island, Kia and Wagh<strong>in</strong>a. These censuses were based on ahierarchical sampl<strong>in</strong>g design with four randomly-positioned transects be<strong>in</strong>g swum at threeseparate sites with<strong>in</strong> each location. Individual sites with these locations were based on<strong>in</strong>terviews with fishers who had previously taken part <strong>in</strong> commercial <strong>pearl</strong> collection. Basedon those <strong>in</strong>terviews, all locations had and still do support silver-lip <strong>pearl</strong> oysters, butexploitation was best developed at Kia and Wagh<strong>in</strong>a.Silver-lip <strong>pearl</strong> oysters were found on 33 of the 96 transects surveyed, yield<strong>in</strong>g a total of 117oysters. Wagh<strong>in</strong>a, Kia and Mboli Passage (Narula Passage) had the largest populations,with mean densities of 1.23 ± 0.38, 1.03 ± 0.27 and 0.66 ± 0.27 <strong>pearl</strong> oysters per 400m 2transect. Pearl oysters were not found at Mbili Passage and Tel<strong>in</strong>a and were scarce (i.e. hadan average density of

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