No 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.