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Pearl Cultivation

Page history last edited by PBworks 16 years, 10 months ago
Pearl Cultivation


Description and Rationale

 

 

                

 

 

           The Philippines contain 4.3% of the Pearl production. There are many pearls in Mindanao, Baguio, Manila, and many other places in the Philippines. Pearls are a great help financially to Filipino people. Since pearls are so easy to find in the Philippines they sell it in a low price compared to other countries. Pearls are used for so many things. They are used in making accessories like rings, necklaces, earrings, and pendants. Everyday people are importing pearls and gaining a lot of profit.

           What makes a pearl’s color and shape so different? What environment do the pearls grow in? Do they have different oysters? How do the people price the pearls? Would the change of environment change the outcome of pearls too? There are many kinds of pearls in the Philippines. There are south sea pearl, black sea pearl, mikimoto, and much more. The prices are all different according to the size, color, shape, and texture of the pearl. The black pearls are the hardest to find and are the most expensive. In addition, it is hard to find perfectly round pearls with a good color. The pearls that are drop shaped are used for earrings and the round ones are mostly used for necklaces, bracelets, or rings. 

          

           The purpose of this project is to find out what the appearance and the shape of the pearls are like in a different environment. It is to try to find out which environment helps the pearls to grow round and neatly shaped. This project will also be researching the biology and ecology of the pearl oysters which produces the pearls. Interviews with scholars in this topic will be made is possible and other people that are selling pearls in the Philippines.

          It is hoped that pearl sellers would find a way to make better pearls by keeping them in a better environment and make more profit out of the pearls.

 

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Biology

 

 

Common Names and Synonyms

 

 Pinctada margaritifera is the scientific name for Pacific pearl oysters. Pearl’s do not come from edible oysters but from pearl oysters, which are in a family of “winged oysters”. In the Philippines, oysters are called tabala. There are many different types of pearl oysters the Gulf pearl oysters, Black-lip oysters, White-lip oysters, Japanese pearl oysters, and Shark Bay pearl oysters.

 

 

Classification

 

Kingdom: Animalia (Animal)

Phylum: Mollusca (Mollusk)

Class: Bivalvia

Order: Pterioda

Family: Pteriidae

Genus: Pinctada

Species: Pincatada margaritifera (Pacific pearl-oyster)

 

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Morphology and Physical Description

 

 

                 

 

 

 

 

 

A pearl is a hard, rounded object produced by certain animals, primarily mollusks. There are many different kinds of pearls, which come in various shapes and sizes depending on the oysters. The Akoya Pearls, South Sea Pearls, Black South Sea Pearls, Freshwater Pearls, and Conch Pearls are some different types of pearls.

 

           Akoya pearl is between 2-10mm big depending on the size of the oyster. The range of colors in if these pearls contain white, cream, pink, green, silver, and gold. South sea pearls are more than 10mm big. The color of the pearl depends on the different types of oysters but they are known for their natural golden color. Black South Sea pearls are 8-15mm big and its color is a combination of blue, green and violet tones with peacock green. Freshwater Pearls are pearls that are usually shaped like grains of rice or an oval. The appearance of a Conch pearl is characterized by a distinctive ‘flaming structure’, which gives the exterior of fire burning on the surface.

 

           The oyster has a shell composed of three layers. It has a very thin outer layer which is called the uncalcified cuticular conchiolin layer or the periostracum. The first layer is very delicate layer, which allows the color of the layer below to show through. The middle layer is called the prismatic layer. The prismatic layer shows a cellular structure formed of calcareous prisms. Calcareous prisms are columns that run vertically to the surface and appear polygonal in the section. The third layer is called the nacreous layer. The nacreous layer is the innermost layer which is often called the “mother-of-pearl layer”. It is made out of numerous fine lamellae of aragonite crystals.

 

 

 

 

Getting Food

 

         The oyster is a filter feeder that sucks water in through the gills through the beating of the cilia. Food planktons stick to the gills, and get transport into the mouth. Healthy oysters feed on algae and other water borne nutrients filtering five liters of sea water per hour.

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Reproduction

 

           Pearls are made by the reproduction of oysters. Oysters cannot be determined whether they are male or female. The egg of an oyster is produced by the gonads, which are made up of sex cells, branching tubules, and connective tissues.

           A pearl is made when a foreign substance slips in between the oyster’s mantle and shell. The foreign substance irritates the mantle, which makes a reaction to protect itself by covering the irritant layer with nacre that is used to create the shell. This creates the pearl in the shell.

           There are five developmental stages for a pearl oyster. First, the pearl is inactive and the gonads, which is a sex gland in which gametes are produced is completely shrunken making it hard to distinguish the sex or the pearl oyster. At the second stage of the oyster’s reproduction, the gametogenic materials begin to appear in the gonad. On the third stage, the gonad spreads on to most of the visceral tissues. On the fourth stage, the gonads become loose in consistently and the visceral epithelium becomes dull. The follicles shrink because of the reduction of gametes. Then on the fifth stage, the gonads shrink further and the pearl is formed and the oyster goes into a resting stage.

 

 

Environmental Factors

 

 

Oysters usually live between 8 to 2 feet below the water surface, filtering the water. The hard surfaces of the oyster shells and the nooks between the shells provide places for small animals to live. Depending on how deep the oyster was originally attached in the bottom of the ocean the outcome of the size and shape of the pearl are different. Oysters usually like a wide range of salinity in their environment.

The temperature is a big part for the biological activities of a pearl oyster. The oyster grows at 20-25°C. If the temperature is below 13°C It causes the oyster to hibernate. If the temperature is below 6°C the oyster will die. When the temperature is 28°C the oysters show exhaustion. The oyster grows and reproduces at winter when the seawater temperature ranges between 23-27°C.

A pearls appearance and growth also differ depending on the tides. When the tides are strong and high, the oyster layers are produced at a faster rate, which affects the outcome of the pearl. A pearl oyster needs to be in an environment with sufficient currents in order to have proper growth and reproduction.

 

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Origin and Distribution

 

             Pearl oysters are found in many parts of the world, they are not found only on a specific place. Akoya pearls are found in Japan, South sea pearls are mostly found in Australia, Philippines, and Indonesia. Black Sea Pearls are commonly found in Tahiti and Okinawa, it is very hard to find and is very the most expensive. Freshwater pearls are found mostly in the lakes and river of China using Hyrioposis Cumingi as the host oyster.

 

 

Importance to People

 

Gems are usually known to be dug from mines and made up from minerals on the ground. Pearls are gems too. The only difference is that they are in water. In many different countries, pearls are used as jewelry. Depending on their shapes and quality the pearls are used to make necklaces, rings, earrings, and pendants. This is common in the Philippines. Although most of the pearls in the Philippines are sold for only 200-300pesos, it is a great export and it helps people earn a lot of money and helps the countries growth and survival.

 

 

 

Survivability and Endangered Status

 

          Pearls are still common everywhere especially in the Philippines it is not really endangered yet. There are some pearls like the black pearls, that are hard to find but pearls itself are not hard to find. The world’s pearl production takes 27.1% in Australia, 23.4% in French Polynesia, 25.2%in Japan, 15.7% in Indonesia, 4.3% in the Philippines, and 4.3% in other countries. 26% of the productions are black pearls, 40% are South Sea pearls, 24% are Akoya pearls, and 10% are fresh water pearls.       Bomb fishing, catching too many oysters and water pollution may affect the reproduction of pearl oysters.

 

 

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Potential Solutions

 

Possibility 1

 

Only three percent of the pearls can be used for fashion jewelry because of their shapes and color. If a design can be made with the pearls that can not be used in making jewelry than it saves the pearls from just being thrown away.

 

Advantages:

 

1.     The Income of the pearls will increase because more of the pearls will be sold and the percentage of the pearls that can be used in making jewelry will increase. So the pearl harvesters will gain more money and the person who sells the pearls will gain more money as well.

 

2.     The specific store owner that came up with the brilliant design may earn a lot of money. The owner may earn more money by exporting the newly made pearls with the new design and if the pearls sell a lot in other countries and in the Philippines many people will be willing to buy her design idea.  

 

Disadvantages

 

1.     Everyone has a different taste in fashion and the some people may like the design but others may not. Although the design is a good idea lots of people are not going to like the same design.

 

2.     It is hard to come up with a design that the people would like. Especially with the pearls that are not really used. There probably is a purpose to why they do not use the other specific pearls for jewelry.

 

 

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Possibility 2

 

         A survey can be made of which kind of pearls or design the people prefer, like, and would buy. For example, what kind of color, shape, and size the people prefer and how shiny the people like the pearls to be.

 

Advantages

 

1.     The stores will know what kind of pearls the people want and it will help them to try and find the pearls they want and they can tell the pearl harvesters the specific kind of pearls that they are looking for.

 

2.     A poll or survey can be done anywhere in the Philippines and in other countries and it may help to get information of which pearls people prefer and want the best through the polls and surveys on the internet or personal interviews

 

Disadvantages

 

1.     Specific kinds of pearls are hard to find. The pearls do not always come out the way people want it to. The shapes do not always come out perfectly round all the time. A lot of the oysters have to be grown in a certain environment and a fit temperature for it to produce specific kinds of pearls. Also a lot of the oysters need to be harvested in order to get at least some of the shapes, sizes, and colors the people want. In addition, pearls like the Black Sea Pearl are hard to find.

 

2.     The survey will not contain everyone’s opinion and it would not be accurate. Also not everyone has the same taste and opinion on the style and type of pearl. It may be hard to get every single kind of pearl for each person in order to satisfy them.

 

         Brief Survey of some Filipino people if they prefer white pearls or black pearls.

Number of People

White Pearls

Black Pearls

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

 

5

 

6

 

7

 

8

 

9

 

10

 

 

Almost all of the Filipino people that was surveyed said that they preferred white pearls more than the black ones. In other countries the black pearls are more expensive and wanted because they are rare. In the Philippines the white pearls are more expensive than the black ones because more people here prefer the white ones because of its color and brightness.

 

 

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Possibility 3

 

        Comparing some of the stores cost for each pearl in the Philippines and then comparing it to the cost of pearls in other countries and the actual price that it is supposed to be may help the Philippines. In the Philippines the pearls only cost about 300 to 8,000pesos for each jewelry depending on the luster, color and where they are found. In other countries like America the pearls cost about over a thousand dollars or at least hundreds of dollars. The price is more than ten times higher t than it is in the Philippines.

 

Advantages

 

1.     If the Philippines are selling the pearls at a much lower price than it is supposed to be than the pearl sellers can start raising the price up and receives more money for the pearls. The pearl harvesters can receive more money from the pearl store owners.

 

2.     Pearls are a resource that God gave us and created for our happiness and enjoyment. The cost being raised can help families that sell pearls in the Philippines financially.

 

Disadvantages

 

1.     The pearls in the Philippines would not be bought by foreigners as much if it is almost the same price as their country. Many of the foreigners buy pearls in the Philippines because it is cheap. If the price of the pearls go up not many people may buy the pearls.

 

2.     There might be less people from other countries that will be willing to export from the Philippines because the price grew. Since the Philippines is not the only country that produces a lot of pearls. Also, when the pearls are imported to other countries the countries need to pay more money for the pearls arriving to their country and for other countries the taxes they need to pay are high and they would need to raise the pearl price as well so the pearls would not be sold as much in their country as well. Also since the tax rate and the money rate of the Philippines is different from other countries in the Philippines the pearls may be an expensive price but for the foreigners it may be cheap.

 

Store number

South sea

Mikimoto

Freshwater

1

30,000~100,000

1,500~ 2,000

1,000~8,000 (1 string)

2

10,000~50,000

None

1,000~2,000(1 strand)

3

29,000~80,000

None

None

4

None

None

1500 (set)

         In the Philippines south sea pearls are the most expensive pearls since it is really hard to get. The black pearls that come from south sea are usually sold at a lower price than the white pearls because the Filipino people prefer white pearls than the black ones. In the second store the black pearls were more expensive. For stores 2 and 3 the pearls were brought in from Palawan, Mindanao. But the fourth store had imported their’s from China and the first store they had imported their fresh water ones from Hong Kong and the other south sea pearls were from the Philippines.

The cost of each pearl are different according to their luster, size, shape, and color. If you rub the pearls you can find out if it is real pearl or not. The real ones produce powder and when the powder is wiped it turns back normally without any scratch and when it is rubbed it is gritty. It was really interesting when I saw that happen. God really created it uniquely. It is way better than what man tries to imitate. For the fake ones the appearance of it looks perfectly round but then when you rub it together it produces a scratch and a layer of plastic is ripped off. What God created is no comparison to what is hand made by us humans.

 

 

 

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Bibliography

 

 

"Animal Diversity Web." Pinctada Margaritifera. 2006. University of Michigan. 14 Apr. 2007              <http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/classification/Pinctada_margaritifera.html#Pinctada%20margaritifera>.

Carol, Angela. "Search Warp." Pearls. 2007. Icologic.inc. 15 Apr. 2007           

            <http://searchwarp.com/swa3519.htm>.

"How Do Oysters Make Pearl?" Howstuffworks. 2007. How Stuff Works.inc. 16 Apr. 2007

           <http://science.howstuffworks.com/question630.htm>.

"Mikimoto." Types of Pearls. 2006. Mikimoto America.co. 14 Apr. 2007          

           <http://www.mikimotoamerica.com/about_jewelry/pearls/kinds.html>.

"Oysters." Wikapedia. 3 May 2007. Wikapedia.org. 15 Apr. 2007    

           <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyster>.

"Pearl Oysters Farming and Pearl Culture." FAO. 2007. Fisheries Department. 18 Apr. 2007         

           <http://www.fao.org/docrep/field/003/AB726E/AB726E03.htm>.

"Pearl Oysters Farming and Pearl Culture." FAO. 2007. Fisheries Department. 18 Apr. 2007                    <http://www.fao.org/docrep/field/003/AB726E/AB726E03.htm>.          

 

"Pearls." Wikapedia. 4 May 2007. Wikapedia.org. 15 Apr. 2007      

           <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl>.

"The Pearl Industry." Atlas. 2006. 15 Apr. 2007         

           <http://www.atlaspacific.com.au/overview_industry.asp>.

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Comments (1)

Anonymous said

at 7:47 pm on May 16, 2007

kk GRace!! jal het dang~
E unnie ga comment heh ju ni kkan jo chi?? haha,
anyways, good job~!

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