[effisk]

I have sent a little questionnaire to the General Manager of Port Stephens Pearls. Will post the answers here in a few days.

I have also written to a scientist who's worked on the farm in Hervey Bay, but he's away for a couple of weeks. I'm interested to hear his thoughts on the subject.

[Admin]

They are using the Pinctada imbricata.

[National Pearl]

After reading the article, I to am unclear why they are giving them the "Akoya" designation. I wonder if it is not more a marketing manuever than anything else. "Akoya" are well established in the marketplace. By calling them "Akoya" and by producing 8-10mm pearls, they instantly gain credibility and high market values.

But can they get away with that if the only similarities is the nucleation process and the use of a saltwater oyster?

I didn't notice in the article any reference to the type of oyster they are using.

[effisk]

Hi all,

Here are the answers to my little questionnaire. Questions are answered by Damian M. Ogburn, the General Manager for Port Stephens Pearls, who is also owner of Ogcorp Systems.

I'm afraid some points are not addressed in the questionnaire, namely the exact species being used for cultivation, and a question hasn't been clearly understood (post-processing treatment). As I read the answers, more questions come to mind...




What is the role of Ogcorp Systems in the pearl farming operations in eastern Australia?
Ogcorp is my own company that provides consultancy and equipment design. We have a range of projects in Australia and overseas. It is likely that my partners will assist in some of the equipment supply to Port Stephens Pearls. We have done so in the past.

What is the current production volume? (pearls produced/year)
Production is the lowest since our first harvest in 2002. This is because of a long and arduous approval process for the leases to undertake pearl farming in Port Stephens. It was very political and although government agencies, universities and most of the community were very supportive of the development there were 4 noisy devils, mostly over 65 that stirred up trouble. We have only recently obtained development approval for 30 ha of lease in Port Stephens and are in the process of rebuilding stock.

What is the average culturing time? (after nucleation/seeding). The average nacre thickness?
Average culture time from spawning to harvest of pearls is approximately 3 years.
Nacre thickness is greater than 2mm

what is the average size of Port Stephens pearls?
8mm

I have seen on the Ogcorp Systems website that nacre is produced faster in akoya oysters in Port Stephens than in Japan (thicker nacre on the same period of time). How is this explained?
Absence of disease, good water quality and food supply. East coast estuaries of Australia are historically a prime region for oyster farming

Higher water temperature?
Not necessarily. Water temperature ranges from 14°C to 23°C

Is the luster of PSP as high as the Japanese akoya? (it is known that pearls grown in colder water produce more lustrous pearls due to slower nacre production).
Lustre appears to better than Japanese Akoya. There have now been three harvests of pearls from the lease established at Wanda Head, with these pearls receiving world acclaim for being of the highest quality. The pearls that have been produced at the Wanda Head lease have been shown to a number of pearl brokers and jewelers worldwide, all of whom commented on the quality of the pearls. Some experts have stated that they have not seen similar quality in Akoya pearls for 40 years.

Are nucleation workers Australians? How many workers do PSP employs?
We have some Australians who we have trained as seeders. At our previous peak we employed 27 workers. We expect it to be double that in a few years time.

How many times are single oysters nucleated? multiple beads per nucleation? (I suppose it's only one nucleation, and a maximum of two beads per oyster, just wanted to make sure...)
Your supposition is correct.

Any use of growth hormones to speed up the growth of pearl oysters?
None

What post-processing treatments are used, if any?
Oysters are placed on recovery leases and closely monitored

What are the challenges that PSP faces? (challenges related to the region of production, diseases, costs of production, local laws...)
Floods and possibly approval process for new leases in some sensitive areas

Do you fear competition created with the increasing quality of Chinese akoya pearls?
Not sure about this. ‘Akoya disease’ has been suspected to occur in China. Massive industrial growth will continue to impact coastal water quality which greatly hinders ability to grow quality Akoya pearls.

Are your pearls destined to a local market, do you intend to sell these pearls worldwide? I have seen in an article that the aim is to sell these pearls to Japan where production has decreased.
We plan to sell worldwide

What are your objectives in 10 years?
Production of more than 1 million pearls per year.

Do you intend to expand your pearl farms to other locations? Are there any plans in that sense?
Yes. Possibly to other suitable sites on the east Australian coast

In what sense is the venture in Hervey Bay a failure?
PSP supplied the spat and equipment for the operation. The operation failed because of poor management, inexperience and flood.

What were the respective roles of PSP and Aquafarms Queensland in the Hervey Bay venture?
We were not greatly involved in the operation and regret having being involved at all. The owner of the Hervey Bay operation has moved out.

An article published in August 2004 on the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry website says there was a similar project in Moreton Bay. How is this project doing? Who is driving that project?
Not sure about this. There were some trials by local farmers in Moreton Bay with stock sourced from us but we have not pursued that avenue.

Are there any other projects further north?
None for Akoya Pearls

I suppose the coast along the Great Barrier Reef is an interesting area but the fact that it is a protected area poses some problems?
There were some trials further north but results were not encouraging. Approval process in Great Barrier Reef is also too difficult.

I heard the local species of pearl oysters in Hervey Bay was larger than regular Pinctada imbricata. Is this true? Are they of the radiata kind?
Yes both Pinctada radiata and Pinctada maxima can be found in Hervey Bay. Pinctada radiata can grow faster in Hervey Bay due to the extended period of warm water but I am not aware of any evidence that they can reach a greater final size. On average they may be larger and I have seen some very big specimens from orpheus island.

I also heard they grow P. maxima? Are these indigenous to the Hervey Bay region? How successful is their cultivation?
Yes they are indigenous. Not successful culture.

[jshepherd]

Great exclusive! Did he mention current production, at all? What does he mean by "lowest since 2002"? 50,000 or 100,000 range? Even at a million oysters it is still a relatively small industry.

[effisk]

I don't have any more answers at this stage.

I find very surprising that the recent article Zeide pointed out in the opening message of the thread presents the Hervey Bay venture like a success, while he just say it's a failure.

I have written an email to a scientist who's worked on that project. We'll see if he replies.

effisk, detective-reporter for PG forums

[National Pearl]

Effisk,

Great job! Thanks for getting the scoop!! It will be interesting to see how these pearls influence the greater pearl market.

[marikita]

Hi Effisk,

I was wondering how you got the contact details of this company?

Also, where are you based?

I don't know a whole lot about pearls, but have started a small business designing strands of CFWPs and semi-precious stones. I'm feeling a little swamped with all the info available on the site here, and a little confused as to the differences/similarities (particularly with terminology) in a few instances.

Aside from all of that, I was thinking of how interesting it would be if I could use Australian-grown pearls (since I'm based in Queensland, Australia) in my designs, and whether it would be worth pursuing this product in particular?

What do you think?

(Also, if so, how do I get onto these people?)

Thanks!

Marikita

[effisk]

Hi Marikita,

I found an email address on the contact page of the Port Stephens Pearls website: http://www.portstephenspearls.com.au/default.aspx?id=10
That's how I contacted them.

I am based in Paris, but have been living in Brisbane and Melbourne. I moved back to France a couple of years ago.
Funnily enough, it's in Brisbane I have bought pearls for the first time. Cheap Chinese potato pearl station necklaces at the south bank and riverside markets.

I am not sure where you can buy these Australian pearls, I believe the best way is to get in touch with PSP. There are a couple of jewelers in Sydney that sell Australian "akoya" pearls, you will find them on the PSP website.

These pearls are probably much more expensive than freshwater pearls, as PSP probably aligned their prices on the Japanese akoya market.

The major advantage would be a 100% Australian made jewel (not taking the Japanese grafter into account ), the major disadvantage would be a (much) higher price.

I haven't seen enough of these pearls to tell what their luster is compared to the freshwater.

[Kevin Canning]

We just got a very interesting email from a former employee of the company. I can't verify any of the information provided but it is very interesting none the less:

have just read about the article on Australian akoya with interest. I worked for Port Stephens Pearls in NSW and can answer alot of questions your forum asked. The species is Pinctada fucata and has been genetically identified as this species by JCU.

The reply from Port Stephens Pearls is interesting as working in the company I saw what was produced. The pearls are small, up to 7 mm and average nacre and due to the long winter when water temperatures are low for 5 months the oysters go into sleep mode so this reflects in small pearls from small shell, average shell is 35 grams at 2 years. Implanting is done using two beads.

The business looks good from the web site but the two Japanese owners who live in Japan want out as the sites have big problems with visual and environmental issues and making no money. The main site is 30 hectares and is in front of a bay 200 metres from multi million dollar houses so public opposition is still very strong especially when the company is foreign owned and only employs japanese staff and cheap japanese backpackers.

Port Stephens Pearls was stopped from producing for the last 3 years due to Government concerns from the public amenity and this year have seeded 100.000 4 - 5 year old shell so this will produce poor pearls as they have finished growing. This company has given aquaculture in Port Stephens a bad public rap and most people are against the japanese carrying on and may be they will be closed down again soon. Management of pearl farms by japanese in Australia has always proven to be poor and seeders are the only real asset to the industry as the culture difference and work effort is so different and japanese always do things the same way without looking at new ways to do things better or grow shell to Austrlain conditions, not like in Japan.

As for Coral Sea pearls I have not been to the site but saw on TV and looks to be a good position and I have heard from JCU that the shell grows up to 100 grams in 2 years and they can seed with single large nucleii so sounds exciting. Also this species is fucata. I wonder if Port Stephens Pearls got kicked out form the site especially if they worked the same way as in NSW. One of the directors from Port Stephens Pearls did have a maxima farm in North Queensland but they gave up at the site and left in a huge mess which Australians had to clean up.
I hope this answers some of your viewers questions, PSP is a joke.

[marikita]

Thanks Effisk,

I understand they'd be more expensive, but I can see that it would be a great selling point, especially since awareness about buying Australian Made has picked up quite a bit recently. I wouldn't base ALL of my product on this, but it would definately make a great range to differentiate myself from other businesses.

Has anyone found the contact details of 'Coral Sea Pearls'? I tried in the white pages, and came up with something that sounded like it could be them, but I'm not entirely sure, and wanted to see if anyone had a better source?

Cheers,

Marikita

[effisk]

Originally Posted by PearlsOfJoy.com

We just got a very interesting email from a former employee of the company. I can't verify any of the information provided but it is very interesting none the less:

I am not surprized by this.

I look forward to hearing from that scientist I mentioned earlier. He might add his own version of the story.

[Kevin Canning]

I'm not sure what you mean Effisk? I have no reason to believe the information they provided isn't correct - although like I said i have no way of verifying it.

I would see PSP stretching the truth before an ex-employee who has nothing to gain - but who knows. The answers to the questions you asked do seem to read a bit like a brochure and more then a bit vague.

[effisk]

I was just chatting with Jeremy about this a few minutes ago.

I exchanged emails back and forth with the person who answered my questions. The way he answered to them, and the info I got from other sources make me think the truth lies in between the two versions.

[Kevin Canning]

the info I got from other sources make me think the truth lies in between the two versions.

That is often the case, I have encouraged our "informant" to come and join the message board, so we'll see if he's up to it.