[*Pearl*]

is there anywhere in florida you can farm for pearls???

lmk....

thanks

[Selectraders]

The Caribbean is better well-known for pearls than the Gulf of Mexico, but the latitude is right for pearl farming west of the panhandle and near Mexico. I am not sure, but I think I remember something about black-lip in that area. I am not sure about South Sea, however, because I think the water is too warm (32 degree C and they die). The latitude would be ok for Akoya as well, but I do not know if their is a native habitat. One thing that would be very good about farming in Florida, however, is the proximity to the Mississippi shell. But as most of the processing to nuclei is done in Japan you would have to find a source local.

[CortezPearls]

You have two species of Atlantic Pearl Oysters in Florida: Pinctada imbricata & Pteria colymbus.

Both species are of small size (Akoya-sized) and would produce pearls in the 6-10 mm size range, mainly in light (Akoya-like) colors...I would not dare produce these pearls and have them compete with Chinese-Japanese Akoyas: you could produce fine quality pearls, but would be more expensive and -to be honest- most people cannot tell the difference between a high a low quality pearl.

Still, you can have a grand marketing campaign in order to help set them apart from other pearls...it could work, and technically it is quite possible to use both species. You should ALWAYS use the Local Species...thus avoiding the spread of pathogens and helping to conserve our planet's fragile ecosystems.

Douglas McLaurin

[purepearls]

I do know that Texas A&M is doing research on what oysters can be successfully cultured in the United States and they may have the information you need.