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

1. IntroductionBlacklip pearl oysters are of considerable importance to aquaculture in the tropicalsouthwest Pacific. Their value comes mainly from the use of live, mature shell for theculture of pearls and in the last two decades this has provided substantial andsustainable incomes for communities in remote parts of French Polynesia, CookIslands and, most recently, Fiji. Widely distributed in Solomon Islands, the harvestand sale of blacklip oyster shell as mother of pearl (MoP) was a significant ruralindustry (Richards et al., 1994). Dwindling stocks led to the closure of the MoPfishery in 1993, even though substantial catches were still being made (Richards et al.,1994). It was hoped that this closure would ensure that sufficient stock remained toeventually replenish the wild population and to ensure that sufficient spat could beharvested to support a pearl farming industry. The hope that pearl farming could offerlong-term sustainable income opportunities for rural communities in Solomon Islands,one of the Pacific’s two poorest countries, in a way that exploitation of wild stocks forMoP could not, was the driver for both the original research programmes, as well asthe current project.This report deals only with known information on blacklip pearl oysters. Subsequentreports from this project will describe other aspects that relate to the viability of pearlfarming in Solomon Islands. These will, for example, deal with the white or goldlippearl oyster (Pinctada maxima), environmental conditions, on the investment climatein Solomon Islands and the legislative and policy framework under which pearlfarming will operate.1.1. Information sourcesInformation currently available from Solomon Islands on blacklip pearl oysters(Pinctada margaritifera) and their potential culture comes from three main sources;records of past exploitation, occasional resource surveys that have included blacklippearl oysters; and research on culture of blacklip oysters in Solomon Islands. Statisticson past exploitation are limited to export tonnage and value collected by the StatisticsUnit of the Ministry for Fisheries and Marine Resources. Spatially resolved data fromwithin the country, by island or by island group are not available. However, sinceexport appears to have been through a single point, Honiara, these records are likelyto reasonably accurately reflect the tonnage exported. Of the various resourceassessments that have been undertaken the only recent, nationwide one that we areaware of is that coordinated and funded by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in May-June 2004. All of the information on pearl farming in Solomon Islands is derived froma research project carried out in the period 1993-1997 by the WorldFish Center(previously the International Center for Living Aquatic Resource Management –ICLARM) in collaboration with MFMR and funded by the Australian Centre forInternational Agricultural Research (ACIAR). After 1997, through to the present,WorldFish continued research on blacklip pearl production, supported through its ownfunds, albeit at a reduced level.1