Abrolhos Black Magic

SPC Pearl Oyster Information Bulletin #14 – December 2003

The evolution of an aquaculture industry from which the mystery, romanticism and beauty of the pearl is born, is unfolding in the sheltered, clear waters off the Abrolhos. Abrolhos Pearls, owned by Alf and Don Woodcock and Murray Davidson, are pioneering the development of the unique black colored pearl in Western Australia. Alf Woodcock started his affinity with the sea as a cray fisherman spending over 40 years fishing off and living on the Islands. Mr. Woodcock and his partners laid the foundation for the black pearls in Western Australia, seven years ago when they took the first step to survey the Islands. “To see what shell was out there, to see whether it was worthwhile starting an industry"." We searched the whole Island group for pearl shell, discovering five species, the one thought the most promising was the black,” Mr. Woodcock said. “We knew they were there from the early days when we were cray fishing, they were around the lagoon where we had our camp, but we never had the time or the finances or expertise to do any-thing about it." Using divers and looking on the shallow reefs the search took about three years, in between doing other work. Mr Woodcock said there were many challenges in getting started. “We didn’t know what we were doing in the early years". They invited visitors from around the world who had experience with black pearls and have been adapting world technology for the Abrolhos environment. After experimenting with producing black pearl from black lipped oyster shell caught from the wild, the Abrolhos pearling venture realized that to be economically viable and to increase control of the pearl quality, the oyster shell stock needed to be hatchery produced. When the juveniles reach the size of a pea they are taken off the ropes and placed in pockets in the panels. The panels are attached to long lines in the clear ocean waters at the pearl farm, located off Pelsaert Island. Only an oyster species which occurs naturally in an area can be farmed in that area. The shells need cleaning every month, using a cleaning machine to remove the barnacles and sea-grass. “One feature about the black pearl oyster is you get about five different colors of pearls – bronze ,black, silver, pink, you can even get the white ones,” Mr. Woodcock said. Every part of the oyster is usable with the meat being sold as an aphrodisiac to Asia, the shell polished and even scrap shell is used to add shine to paint and in cosmetics. Although still very much in the development stage, Mr. Woodcock said it was a very exciting project. “We have been out there for a long time and haven’t produced anything. It has taken a longtime to get the formula right to grow the spats from the hatchery and then to get the right time of the year to seed them, to find the right size nuclei –the formula has been everything.” Abrolhos Pearls has had their first pearls crafted into earnings and a necklace by Verity Jewelers. These are the first black pearls to be produced in Western Australia. They have only matured for seven months and were from experimental shell caught from the wild. Verity Jewelers’ owner Glenn Lake said they were very excited about these first black pearls from the Abrolhos. “If the color of these pearls are any indication of what’s to come then the local pearling industry shows a lot of promise. Soon, Abrolhos Pearls, one of two pearls farms at the Islands, will take an exciting leap forward, preparing to seed their first crop of 25,000 black lipped hatchery produced pearls.

Source: The West Australian