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.
