Pearl Oyster Sustainability

The pearl fishery in WA has historically been based on the species Pinctada maxima, which produces the prized large South Sea pearl. Wild shell is collected according to quota and the oysters are then seeded and tended on longlines at farms in ocean bays in tropical waters. Oyster hatcheries are now producing spat to supplement wild shell capture, but the industry relies on wild stocks. The current quota for wild shell isProject and activity description:The project will: * maintain catch and effort database monitoring, policy advice and liaison, annual status reports and stock assessment, population model development and publications relevant for the wild pearl oyster fishery; * initiate a piggyback spat and length frequency monitoring program on industry vessels, as a measure of recruitment of wild pearl oysters. The FRDC project is Predicting and Assessing Recruitment Variation - a critical factor for the management of the Pinctada maxima fishery in Western Australia; and * provide assistance to industry and management decision makers on setting the quota for the catch of wild P. maxima shell.Time: ongoing.