Would love to know about the status of the Pipi fisheries.
P. maculata were considered a nuisance species. IUCN Red List Status, CMS and CITES status list these as un-evaluated.
Overall, the fishery is minor while the economic value is marginal. Given their ability to thrive as intertidal, epifaunal or benthic creatures suggest
strong genetic diversity and resilience.
Interestingly, with changes in climate, mean temperature and salinity, Akoya oysters have been recently listed as "invasive" in the Nansha Islands.
Wang and Chen [13], P. maculata was the sole species of the genus Pinctada found in
the sea area surrounding the Nansha Islands. However, a recent sampling conducted at
Mischief Reef revealed that P. fucata was also present (Figure S1). We found that P. fucata
tended to aggregate in groups at coral reefs and attach to the nets of aquaculture cages.
According to the observations of local fishermen, the presence of P. fucata in Mischief
was initially recorded in 2016. While no substantial ecological or economic issues have
been reported due to the presence of P. fucata in the Mischief Reef area to date, it remains
unclear whether the introduction and potential proliferation of this species may cause any
detrimental effects to the reef’s ecosystem in the future. Because it may be considered a
potential invasive species to the Nansha Islands, it is necessary to describe the new record
of P.fucata in Mischief Reef and estimate the population genetic diversity and structure of
the P. fucata populations.
Likewise, since the mass collection of marine pearl oysters were replaced by farm operations, other species such as your beloved P. sterna have made considerable recoveries in natural settings.
