A lesson for Cooks in Japanese peart disaster

Developments

By Florence Syme-Buchanan

THE seas that can threaten isolated South sea pearl farming atolls each hurri cane season are also probably the best thing protecting that dynamic industry.

Huge clear lagoons, small populations on scattered tiny atolls surrounded by a vast expanse of unpolluted sea keep pearl farms free of the diseases and long-run ning problems now threatening the col lapse of Japan’s billion-dollar cultured pearl industry. While Japan’s problems may create a bigger demand for the South sea black pearl, farmers and traders here don’t think there will be any dramatic

changes.

“Hard to predict,” says Pearl Shop’s Trevon Bergman. That’s because Japan’s smaller white akoya pearls and the South Pacific black pearls have different mar kets and are “almost a different product.”

Bergman and former marine resources boss turned full-time pearl farmer Raymond Newnham both say if Japan’s industry goes bust, dealers could turn to buying from China whose pearls are clos er to their own. China has been develop ing white freshwater pearls for over five years. It’s going to be “a wait and see sit uation” says Newnham if Japanese deal

ers want to make the switch to bigger, more expensive black pearls.

Show an akoya pearl buyer a Pacific black pearl and he gets “culture shock” says Bergman. Pearls here are just so much bigger with farmers aiming at an average size of 10mm.

They say there could be a demand for smaller black pearls from the South Pacific, but don’t think farmers should start producing these in favour of the larg er pearls. “Smaller pearls, smaller money,” says Bergman.

Japan’s pearl industry has been wracked with problems ranging from high mortality rates, red tide algae, pollution and poorer quality. Experts are trying to

pinpoint exactly what’s affecting large

areas of oyster beds in the last decade.

Blame has been put on pollution in Japan’s waters and scientific tinkering that’s produced more fragile oysters that more easily fall victim to diseases.

Ministry of Marine Resources marine ecologist Ben Ponia, government officials and some pearl farmers from the three northern pearl producing islands of Manihiki, Penrhyn and Rakahanga are worried. Their concerns are that, without proper border controls, foreign techni cians who’ve worked in Japan, can bring in used tools that may be contaminated.

“There is a slight risk,” says Ponia.

Marine Resources wants to put in place protocols requiring foreign technicians to declare their tools and state where they have previously worked. If the technicians have worked in Japan, then their tools, used in the delicate pearl seeding opera tion, have to be fumigated.

“It they’ve worked in Japan, then we want to sterilise their tools, the impact of any disease on pearl farming lagoons is just far too great.”

Contamination of those lagoons by dis ease would mean the Cook Islands can kiss good-bye a $5 million industry - a national revenue earner that’s second to tourism. Pearl dealer Joan Rolls says farmers here “are very conscious that this is a sustainable industry” and want to keep the Manihiki and Penryhn lagoons in pris tine condition. Our advantage, says Rolls, is pearl farming takes place “away from cities and large land masses that have rivers and pollution”. And should the

Japanese industry collapse, Joan Rolls

says the Cooks experience in pearl farm ing will give it the edge on Pacific neigh bours. Except for Tahiti which is the world’s biggest producer of black pearls.

She says Japan’s problems should serve as a warning to the Cooks because exactly what is affecting oyster beds there and how widespread the problem isn’t known yet. ■