 Savusavu Pearl Farm,
which grows export
quality black pearls, is
now established. The
black pearl farm was
founded by the marin
biologist Justin Hunter.
Fiji's first peal farm
.Each J. Hunter Pearl
comes from an implanted
oyster that remains in
the water for up to two
years before harvesting.
During the time before
harvest, the progress of
each oyster is monitored
and the molluscs are
carefully cleaned.
This is Fiji's first
venture into commercial
black pearl cultivation,
an industry that
worldwide is less than
30 years old. Black
pearls are well
established in the Cook
Islands and Tahiti.
Guided black pearl farm
tours are conducted on a
daily basis for adults
and children. Visitors
can see the farms
various stages of oyster
development, and if they
are lucky - the
implanting of a mantle,
a small piece of tissue
from a donor oyster, and
the pearl nucleus, made
from the shell of a
mussel from the USA's
Mississippi River. The
two ingredients work
together to eventually
form the oysters pearl |