Post-operative care of implanted pearl oysters Pinctada fucata in low salinity seawater improves the quality of pearls

Abstract

Current techniques for culturing the Akoya pearl oyster Pinctada fucata result in low yields of blemish-free, round pearls (high-quality pearls). We compared the effects of five factors on the proportion of high-quality pearls produced during culture using a generalized linear model (GLM). Two factors were physiological, shell-closing strength (SCS) and the whole wet weight of host pearl oysters, and three factors were procedural, post-operative care method, technician, and nucleus diameter. Our results suggest that post-operative care methods have the most significant effect on increasing the proportion of high-quality pearls. The proportion of high-quality pearls was five-fold higher in the group held in low salinity seawater than in the conventional treatment group. We propose a new post-operative care method in which oysters are immersed in low salinity seawater to increase the production of high-quality pearls.