Pearl farmers live in some of the world's most beautiful places:
sheltered lagoons with pristine waters. Studies show that pearl
farming actually imporves the surrounidng environment. But this
closeness to nature also means that pearl cultivation is one of the
most vulnerable industries when it comes to climate change.
The change in climate threatens the pearl industry in two ways. First,
higher sea temperatures may increase oyster mortality rates. Second,
higher temperatures may result in more severe weather.
"Global warming is a threat to the pearl industry because if the sea
water temperature rises by one or two degrees Celsius in some of the
tropical areas we will see higher mortality rates and possibly lower
quality, lower luster pearls," says Martin Coeroli, managing director
of Perles de Tahiti.
Unseasonable storms are already cutting oyster mortality in the
Philippines. "We lost something like 10,000 pearls," says Jacques
Branellec of Jewelmer, the leading producer of South Sea cultured
pearls in the Philippines.
"Cultivation time is much longer than what it used to be to get the
same result." The productivity of the sea has diminished, he adds.
What's the bottom line?
"Tahitian pearls and South Sea pearls will become rarer," Coeroli
predicts. "We known the rarity factor will be there but we hope the
quality factor will be there also."
From Modern Jeweler
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