Production of Akoya pearls from the Southwest coast of India

The Indian pearl oyster Pinctada fucata (Gould) is typically capable of producing pearls of 3–5 mm diameter. The feasibility of production of pearls similar to Akoya pearls of 6–8 mm diameter was studied from the southwest coast of India. Along with this, mortality and retention rates of implanted o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Aquaculture Vol. 262; no. 2; pp. 347 - 354
Main Authors:	Kripa, V., Mohamed, K.S., Appukuttan, K.K., Velayudhan, T.S.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 28-02-2007 Elsevier Science Elsevier Sequoia S.A
Subjects:	6–8 mm Akoya pearl Animal aquaculture Animal productions Aquaculture Biological and medical sciences Bivalvia Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology General aspects Invertebrates Marine mollusc culture Mollusca Mortality Mortality rates Oysters Pearls Pinctada fucata Retention rates Sedimentation & deposition India Asia ISW, India INW, Japan 6–8 mm Akoya pearl Retention rates Pinctada fucata Mortality rates Pearl Bivalvia Mortality Invertebrata Mollusca Retention 6-8 mm Akoya pearl; Mortality rates; Retention rates Aquaculture
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Summary:	The Indian pearl oyster Pinctada fucata (Gould) is typically capable of producing pearls of 3–5 mm diameter. The feasibility of production of pearls similar to Akoya pearls of 6–8 mm diameter was studied from the southwest coast of India. Along with this, mortality and retention rates of implanted oysters, rate of nacre production, thickness of nacre deposited, quality and type of pearls produced and effect of hydrographic variations on the mortality of implanted oysters were also studied. A total of 706 oysters were implanted, 311 with 5 mm, 395 with 6 mm nuclei and stocked in 30 cages for a period of 317 days. The mortality rates were highest, 0.173 ± 0.22 for the 6 mm nucleus implanted oysters followed by 5 mm nucleus implanted oysters at 0.107 ± 0.025 during the first 30 days after implantation. These rates were significantly different ( P < 0.05) from the mortality rate of the control oysters (0.042 ± 0.04). The retention rates based on the surviving oysters, ranged from 33 to 61% (average 45.9 for 5 mm) and 31 to 60% (average 48.9% for 6 mm). The nacre deposition rates on the nuclei were found to be 4.0 ± 1.0 μm day − 1 and 3.0 ± 1.0 μm day − 1 for 6 and 5 mm nuclei respectively. Of the total 131 pearls obtained, 27.6% were A-grade, 31.3% B-grade, 19.8% C-grade, 7.6% baroques and 13.7% rejects or trash. The total suspended solids (TSS) in the water were found to be positively correlated ( P < 0.05) with the monthly mortality rate of the implanted oysters. The study showed that it was possible to obtain relatively thick nacre within a short period of 10 months, the deposition rate being about 9 times higher than that observed in Japanese waters and 2.2 to 2.3 times more than that along the Indian southeast coast.
Bibliography:	http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2006.09.047 ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0044-8486 1873-5622
DOI:	10.1016/j.aquaculture.2006.09.047