III BSc.

, ZOOLOGY PAPER IV QUESTION BANK 30

Pearl culture b. Pinctada chemnitzi

c. Pinctada margaritifow
In this article we will discuss about:- 1. d. Pinctada anomioides
Meaning of Pearl Culture 2. Important Pearl- e. Pinctada atrapurpurea
Producing Oys-ters 3. Distribution in Indian
Waters 4. Biology of Pearl Oyster 5.
Formation of Pearl 6. Artificial Pearl Culture Distribution of Pearl oyster beds
7. Large-Scale Pearl Culture.
The

main sites of production of pearl are the

Persian Gulf, Gulf of Manaar (Ceylon),
Sulusea (near Philippines). Besides these,
coast of Australia and shores of Central
America
Nowadays Japan has surpassed all the
countries in the bulk of pearl production by
invention of pearl culture techniques.
Pearl Fisheries of India:
Pearl oyster beds in India are present on both
eastern and western coasts. However, the
east coast is more productive and extensive
History than the west coast. The two zones of Indian
coast known for pearl oysters are
Fishing of pearl oyster in order to obtain pearl (A) Gulf of mannar:
is known to Indians since ancient days. The The Indian pearl fisheries in the Gulf of
chief sources of pearls are marine pearl Mannar along with Sri Lanka produces the
oysters, however the fresh-water molluses true oriental pearls of the finest quality. The
are also known to produce pearls but they are species common to this area is Pinctada
of poor quality and almost worthless. Pearl is fucata. Gulf of Mannar has 72 beds,
known to human beings since ancient times. (B) Gulf of kutch: In the Gulf of Kutch there
A pearl due to its delicate appearance and are about 42 pearl oyster reefs, known as
shine has retained its position as a costly ‘Khaddas’.
ornamental object. Due to its properties, it
occupied important place in the crown of How pearl produced
great emperors and queens. The origin of Pearl is secreted by the mantle of the pearl
pearl is not known to us however Chinese oyster as a protection against foreign objects
records show that pearl was known to them which may be sand particles, minute larval
as far back as 2300 B.C. forms or other such things. To study the
mode of formation of pearl it is essential to
Pearl producing oysters know the structure of the shell and mantle.
The pearl oyster belongs to genus Pinctada,
family pteriidae, and class bivalvia and Shell of pearl oyster is composed of three
phylum mollusca. distinct layers. They are as follows.
a. Pinctada fucata
Prepared by
B. A. Ali Baba, M.Sc. M.Phil. B.Ed. NET
 III BSc., ZOOLOGY PAPER IV QUESTION BANK 31

Periostracum: It is the outermost, greenish- Time taken for the formation of a pearl of
brown, thin, translucent layer made up of an average size is three to five years.
organic substance “Conchiolin”. It is secreted
by mantle. It serves to protect the underlying
layers from harmful effects of weak carbonic
acid in water.

Prismatic Layer: It is the middle layer

secreted by mantle. This layer is made up of
minute crystals of calcium carbonate, It gives
strength and rigidity to the shell.

Nacreous Layer: It is the inner most layer of

the shell and is better known as mother of
pearl”, because this layer is responsible for
the formation of pearl. It consists of alternate The chemical analysis of a pearl shows that it
layers of calcium carbonate and conchiolin contains about 90% calcium carbonate, 5%
This layer is also secreted by mantle and its organic substances and 5% water and other
function is to protect the delicate surface from residues.
harmful effects of the foreign particles. that
pearls are formed due to irritation caused to The natural pearl is rarely a sphere, as it
the mantle by the entry of foreign bodies. assumes the shape of the nucleus. The
Whenever any sort of foreign body enters and process is very slow and continues for the
gets between the mantle and shell, it whole life of an oyster. The value of a natural
becomes enclosed in a sac of mantle pearl depends on its size, shape, colour and
epithelium. This foreign body now acts as an lusture.
irritant and stimulates the mantle epithelium

Biology of Pearl Oyster:

The oyster usually breeds several times in
succession. The larvae are free-swimming
and feed upon microscopic organisms. They
undergo metamorphosis and finally settle, at
the bottom, in large numbers. The young
oyster has a fast growth rate and attains
about 50 mm size in a year. Pearl oysters
feed on small algae found in the water
column through filtering large amounts of
water.

Formation of Pearl:

If a small foreign particle, an inert material,

e.g. sand particle, hard object, etc.; living
object, e.g. parasite, penetrates the mantle of
the oyster, the cells of the mantle get
attached to it.

to secrete concentric layers of nacre around

this foreign body. These layers when harden
becomes pearl. (Fig. 40)
Size of pearl is directly proportional to the
degree of irritation cause by foreign agents.
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B. A. Ali Baba, M.Sc. M.Phil. B.Ed. NET
 III BSc., ZOOLOGY PAPER IV QUESTION BANK 32

The foreign particle forms the nucleus over irritation will produce nacrous layers around
which more or less concentric layers of that foreign body which in time will become
mother of pearl is secreted. pearl.

PROCESS OF PEARL CULTURE

The process of pearl culture includes the
follwing steps.
Step 1: Construction of pearl farm. It
includes 2 steps

a. Selection of farm site: A site is selected

that provides- constant temperature,

In case the particle penetrates deep enough,

a sac or cyst is first formed around the
particle and pearl formation occurs within the
sac.
With time, due to more secretion, it enlarges
in size and the pearl is formed.

Artificial Pearl Culture:

Japan was the first to develop scientific pearl protection from waves, shallow waters.
culture in 1907. Introduction of large particles b. Construction of pearl farm: Wooden
of desired shape and size made it possible to Rafts of 5x5 meters are placed in seawater
get pearls of different shapes and sizes. using proper anchors. Lines of ropes are
hung on to these rafts.
The basic principle of Pearl-Culture is to
Step 2: Collecting oysters
After the construction of pearl farm, the divers
set out to the bottom of the sea, to collect the
oysters. Oysters are generally located on a
flat rock bottom . The shells collected, are
cleaned, sized, and placed into baskets for
storage until they are transferred to the pearl
farm. The larvae of the oyesters can also be
collected. That process is called spat
collection. These larvae are again grown upto
2 years so that they can be seeded
(introduction of foreign particle)

Step 3: Seeding
Two-three year old healthy oysters are
considered for surgical implantation known as
seeding. This is a very delicate operation and
involves three stages:

introduce some foreign materials between Preparation of the graft: A donor oyster is
mantle and shell of the oyster, which out of sacrificed to obtain mantle. Mantle is needed
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B. A. Ali Baba, M.Sc. M.Phil. B.Ed. NET
 III BSc., ZOOLOGY PAPER IV QUESTION BANK 33

by the host oyster to accept the nucleus.

Nucleus is a foreign particle usually a sand or
glass particle.
Attaching the graft: The oyster is opened
with special wedges and pliers, sand/glass
particle is introduced between the shell and
mantle and the oyster is then returned back
to the water. The inserted core irritates the
oyster, provoking it to gradually coat the core
with thin layers of mother of pearl nacre. After
some time, the oysters are collected, and x-
rayed to see whether the implants have been
accepted. Oysters which have rejected the
implant are returned to the water and are
once again operated. The oysters which have
accepted the implant are transferred to the
pearl farm.

Step 4: Caring the oyster

The shells which have been grafted are

transferred to the pearl farm are placed in
baskets or ropes attached to the floating rafts.
The oyster can produce more than one pearl
in its lifetime.

Step 5: Harvesting

After 2-3 years, the oysters are harvested. It

is necessary to make a trial harvest to
determine whether the pearls have a
sufficient coating. If it is not sufficient then an
additional six months to a year of culturing is
necessary. The oysters are split open and
pearl bags are cut by the scalpel to remove
the pearls.

Step 6: Sorting pearls

There are many different steps involved with

the sorting of pearls. Firstly, the pearls are
sorted according to their size, colour and
lustre. They are marketed.

Prepared by
B. A. Ali Baba, M.Sc. M.Phil. B.Ed. NET