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

Page 17shell. Mainlines are generally suspended at least two metres below the sea surface in order tokeep shell out of the most agitated part of the wave zone, and avoid accidental damage fromsmall boats. All these practices should be a regulatory requirement for pearl farmers inSolomon Islands.Where pearl farming takes place in atolls, especially closed ones, circulation may be limitedand currents weak, which may result in the accumulation of pearl oyster waste (faecalproducts and drop-off by fouling organisms) beneath farm sites. In these circumstances, goodhealth management practices require that mainlines be moved to adjacent areas after 1-2years, before being moved back after another 1-2 years. This allows alternate sites to liefallow and regenerate, avoiding excessive build-up of toxic or unhygienic waste products.Where farms are located in areas with stronger coastal currents, or in very deep water, thispractice is not necessary. Farms in Solomon Islands will probably correspond to the lattersituation, but the option should be retained to require farmers in semi-enclosed areas or lowcurrentsituations to relocate their mainlines between two (or more) alternate sites every twoyears.5.4. Movement of pearl shellsOne of the health risk factors relating to pearl farming is that animals may be transferred froman area where a disease or parasite is present, to an area previously free of the infection.Transfers may occur under a variety of circumstances: pearl farmers may collect spat in onearea and grow them out in another; farmers may take shell from an existing farm for purposesof expansion or setting up new farms elsewhere; broodstock may be relocated to or betweenhatcheries; or a new entrant into the industry may buy shell from an existing farmer to meethis start-up requirements.At the present time there are few constraints on the movement of biological material withinSolomon Islands, whether it be terrestrial or marine. Seaweed is regularly transferred amongfar-distant farm sites in response to the needs of farmers, and it is likely that pearl farmerswould similarly want to move batches of pearl shell from one place to another from time totime. In Australia, Japan, Cook Islands and French Polynesia regulations have beenintroduced to control the indiscriminate movement of pearl oysters between farming sites.Translocation is still permitted, but only takes place between sites where the health status ofthe shell population has been studied and monitored or, failing that, after health inspections ofthe shell to be moved and, sometimes, quarantine of those shell.The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) has published guidelines relating to thetransfer of biological material between and within countries for aquaculture purposes. Theguidelines provide disease inspection, quarantine and risk assessment protocols for a range ofspecies, including pearl oysters. It is recommended that as a minimum the SPC guidelines beadapted for incorporation into Solomon Island’s pearl industry management regulations. Ingeneral, local movements of shell within a 25 km radius need not be regulated, to allow areasonable dispersal of a pearl farmer’s spat collectors and grow-out sites. However anymovement of pearl shell over a distance greater than 25 km should require the writtenpermission of the Director of Fisheries. An application for approval of a pearl shell transfershould be accompanied by a full justification, and an explanation of what alternativemeasures have been considered. Permission for transfer should not be unreasonably withheld,but there should be a proper risk assessment of the proposed translocation before approval isgranted. If appropriate, histological examinations of sample of both the shell to be moved andthe population at the destination site may be required prior to transfer. If pathogens, parasites