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

depend mainly on the quality of the technicians (seeders) employed by thecommercial enterprise. As is evident from the attached valuation, the total value of acrop of pearls can be increased substantially by even minor improvements in thepercentages of high quality pearls. This trend has occurred elsewhere. For example,the black pearl industry in Tahiti has progressively increased the percentage of roundpearls with good lustre and clean surfaces since the development of the industry.In my view, the first crop of black pearls from Solomon Islands is encouraging.Assuming that experienced pearl farmers can be attracted to Solomon Islands, thequestion becomes not so much “are the waters around the islands suitable for growingpearls?” but “are the cost of producing pearls in Solomon Islands significantly lowerthan in other areas of the Pacific? It would be most helpful to prospective investors ifICLARM could prepare accurate costs for establishing and operating a pearl farm of,say, 50,000 oysters in Solomon Islands. Such information, combined with valuationsof further crops from the demonstration farm, should be of major assistance in alertingpearl farmers to the opportunities in Solomon Islands.Rudolf Martin ZinggPresidentDevino PTY Ltd10 November 199929