Cleaning Regime for Pinctada margaritifera (Linneaus, 1758) in Savusavu Bay, Fiji

Abstract

One of the main challenges of pearl industry in Fiji and the South Pacific is trying to control the harmful effects of excessive biofouling on Mother of Pearl Oysters until they are ready implanting and grafting process. Controlling and cleaning biofouling is a major expense of any pearl farm operation. Biofouling also has a significant effect on the growth rate and survival of pearl oysters. An experiment was setup in Valili pearl farm to find out the best cleaning regime for highest growth rate of Mother of Pearl oysters from January 2012 through to June 2012. The experimental setup had 4 treatments; 2 week, 4 week, 6 week and 20 week cleaning regime. Each treatment had 5 panel nets with 21 oysters. The results showed that the oysters treated with 4 and 6 week cleaning regime had significantly higher growth rates than 2 and 20 week cleaning regime.