Pearl Farming in India: Types, Process and Profitability

Table of Contents

• What is a Pearl and How are they Formed?
• What are the Different Types of Pearls?
• Based on Source
• Based on Nature
• Pearl Farming in India
• Market Trends and Demand for Indian Pearls
• How to Cultivate Pearls in India?
• Getting Pearl Mussel Stocks
• Pre-Grafting Culture
• Mussel Surgery
• Post-Operative Care
• Post-Grafting Culture (Pearl Development)
• Pond Culture
• Pearl Harvesting
• How to do Pearl Farming at Home?
• What are the Advantages of Pearl Farming in India?
• How Profitable is Pearl Farming?
• What are the Challenges in Pearl Farming in India?
• What are the government initiatives for Pearl Farming in India?

What is a Pearl and How are they Formed?

About: Pearls, the "Queen of Gems", are precious natural gems developed by marine oysters and freshwater mussels. They are lustrous, shiny, and come in various colours.

Formation: Pearls are produced when foreign particles, like sand or insects, enter the oysters or mussels, causing irritation. To protect itself from irritants, oysters secrete nacre (90% calcium carbonate), which develops a layer of deposits over the foreign particles to create a natural pearl.

What are the Different Types of Pearls?

Pearls can be of different types depending on the source and the nature of the pearls.

Based on Source

They are classified into two types: freshwater pearls and marine pearls.

Based on Nature

They are classified into three types: natural pearls, cultured pearls, and artificial pearls. Let's discuss each of them briefly, including their species and the locations where they are found in India.

• Natural Pearls: Natural pearls are formed naturally due to the deposition of nacre on the foreign particles that have entered the mussels or oysters.
• Cultured Pearls: Cultured pearls are cultivated by surgically implanting foreign particles of a particular shape and size into the oysters' body, inducing their secretion of nacre. It is the most prevalent pearl produced worldwide, including in India.
• Artificial Pearls: Artificial pearls are made of marble, plastics, glass, shell beads, ivory, etc. They are coated with pearl essence – a mixture of silvery extract of fish scales and enamel.

Pearl Farming in India

Pearl farming, also known as moti farming, is the process of producing natural, cultured, or artificial pearls from oysters or mussels in a given pond, canal or river. Of all the types of pearls produced in India, 99% are cultured pearls. The natural beds of marine pearl oysters, Pinctada fucata, are found in the Gulf of Mannar, Gulf of Kutch, and Palk Bay Strait, whereas in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, the prevalent marine oyster is Pinctada Margeretifera.

The pearl fishery in India was prevalent until 1967, when the last pearl fishery was done at the Jamnagar coast in Gujarat. As a result, the gap between the demand and supply of pearls became evident, making it necessary for the government to start pearl culture in India. Pearl farming in India began in 1969, when the Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (CIFA) began culturing freshwater oysters and mussels for pearls. Today, in India, both marine pearls and freshwater pearls are cultured to meet the increasing demand for pearls.

Market Trend and Demand for Indian Pearls

Indian pearls are one of the finest of 'Oriental Pearls', and they are in high demand. Yet, according to OEC World data, India is the 19th-largest exporter of pearls, with exports valued at around USD 3.79 million, and the 6th-largest importer of pearls globally in 2022. Further, freshwater pearls are preferred for pearl cultivation in India, as they come in a wide variety of colours and shapes and are more lustrous. Moreover, cultured pearls are preferred over natural pearls, and they are forecasted to grow further.

How to Cultivate Pearls in India?

Pearl farming in India involves a series of steps, from choosing a site to selecting pearl farming kits to harvesting pearls. Let's discuss each step in turn.

Getting Pearl Mussel Stock

Mussels usually take 6 – 10 years to become ready for culture. So, you can hand-pick healthy mussel stocks for culture or implantation from natural water bodies such as rivers or ponds. After that, select the mussels based on their size. Usually, mussels measuring 8 cm in length and 35 grams in weight are ideal for culturing.

Pre-Grafting Culture

Pre-operative conditioning, or pre-grafting culture, is an important precondition that facilitates surgical implantation. So, you need to do the following prior to surgical implantation:

• You need to keep the selected mussels crowded for 24 to 36 hours to ease the relaxation of the adductor muscles.
• After that, you should stock the mussels in FRP/ferro cement tanks in aged tap water at a density of 1 mussel per liter of water.
• Before starting the surgical procedure, keep the mussels in an upward-facing position for 30 minutes, ensuring the opening part (ventral side) faces upward and the umbo (dorsal side) face downward.

Mussel Surgery

Mussel surgery or grafting to implant the nuclei into the mussel is the most crucial process in the entire pearl farming process. For this, you need to graft the nucleus, which is made of shell powder or acrylic powder, along with the mantle graft so that it later develops into a pearl sac.

Now, you need to choose from the three different methods of implantation that are in practice today:

• Mantle cavity implantation
• Mantle tissue implantation
• Gonadal implantation

Please note that you have to choose the implantation method based on the type of pearl you are targeting, such as a round pearl, a designer/rice pearl, etc.

Post-Operative Care

• You have to perform a post-grafting inspection for 7-10 days to reduce mortality and rejection of implanted nuclei.
• While taking care of the mussels, you need to treat them with a broad spectrum of antibiotics to minimize rejection and ensure quick healing.
• They are kept for 24 hours, then, after a three-day interval, again for up to nine days, and fed green algae with vigorous aeration.

Post-Grafting Culture (Pearl Development)

After the post-grafting inspection, you need to shift the implanted mussels into the desired culture system. You have to pack them in nylon net bags and hang them. The implanted mussels are cultured either in FRP/ferro-cement tanks or in ponds with compatible fish species. Their culture period ranges from 12 to 18 months, depending on the implantation process followed. Ambient soil and water quality parameters are favourable for the formation of high-quality pearls in captive conditions.

Pond Culture

The pond should be 1.5-2 m deep, with a clay bottom and slightly alkaline water, devoid of aquatic macrophytes and algal blooms such as Microcystis and Euglena. The ponds are equipped with bamboo poles used as rafts to suspend the implanted pearl mussels.

Pearl Harvesting

Pearl Harvesting is performed after the designated culture time, depending on the chosen implantation method (12–18 months).

The harvested mussels are sorted based on their quality, which is governed by shape, size, lustre, texture, and colour, followed by value addition.

You can also reuse the harvested mussels for implantation only if you have followed the mantle tissue surgery method. However, in the case of the mantle cavity implantation method, you need to sacrifice the mussels to harvest the pearls.

How to do Pearl Farming at Home?

Growing pearls at home is a simple way to create gems in a small space, such as a balcony or spare room. You can easily take care of freshwater mussels yourself by keeping them in a simple fish tank. And here’s how you can grow pearls at home:

• Set Up Your Tanks: You don't need a pond, as you can stack two 3-foot fish tanks together instead. But you must use a pump to keep the water clean and oxygenated for the fish.
• Get Your Mussels: You can buy freshwater mussels or find them in local rivers. A 500-litre tank is large enough to hold about 50 mussels.
• Plant the Seed: Carefully open each shell and place a tiny bead or piece of tissue inside. The mussel will coat this object in many thin & shiny layers to protect itself. These layers will become pearls over time.
• Daily Feeding: Mussels eat by filtering food from the water. So, make sure to feed them high-quality algae and vitamins. Also, keep their tank clean and the water temperature stable.
• Wait for Harvest: Be patient as it takes about 12 to 24 months for a beautiful pearl to fully grow and be ready for you to take out.

What are the Advantages of Pearl Farming in India?

Peral Farming in India has several advantages, which are discussed below:

• The final product in pearl farming is lightweight and non-perishable, commanding a high price in the market.
• Processing pearls is simple, and they do not require refrigeration. Thus, the cost of pearl farming is lower than that of fish farming.
• It can be easily integrated with other aquaculture activities, such as fish farming.
• It can double the income of farmers as freshwater mussels are found in almost every canal, river, and pond of a village.
• Providing a sustainable source of pearls reduces pressure on wild oysters.

How Profitable is Pearl Farming?

Pearl farming can be a highly profitable business. In India, freshwater mussels are widely preferred over marine oysters. The profit from pearl farming depends on different factors. These are:

• Mortality: The profit depends on the number of mussels alive when they are ready for harvesting.
• Nucleus Rejection: The profit also depends on how many mussels have accepted the nucleus from a donor mussel.

Furthermore, each freshwater oyster contains two pearls, which cost Rs. 6– 10 per piece. Each harvested pearl can be sold at any price between Rs. 150 and Rs. 300, depending on the design.

Now, if you want to start a 50,000 mussels project, then the total investment required is between Rs. 20 and Rs. 25 lakhs. Assuming only 45 – 55% of the total mussels are alive and yield pearls, the return on investment after 2 years will be anywhere between Rs. 50 and Rs. 55 lakhs.

What are the Challenges in Pearl Farming in India?

There has been relatively little mussel farming in India compared to fish and shellfish culture, despite its economic value, profitability, and minimal labour requirements. Several challenges in pearl farming in India are:

• A low number of freshwater pearl farmers in India.
• Lack of an organized sector for pearl farming in the country.
• Lack of proper brood stock management protocols.
• Scattered availability of mussel broodstock.
• Non-availability of standardized breeding technology.
• Lack of standardized water quality management protocols across different agro-climatic zones of India.
• Few research institutes are involved in freshwater pearl mussel farming technology.
• Poor extension network for disseminating existing cultural technologies and advances.

What are the Government Initiatives for Pearl Farming in India?

The Government of India has been providing subsidies and incentives to pearl farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana to meet the financial risk associated with pearl farming.

Bhubaneshwar-based CIFA has been playing a pivotal role in disseminating freshwater pearl culture technology to farmers and entrepreneurs willing to engage in it.

Every year, it conducts a training program in which candidates receive hands-on training in various implantation methods. They are also trained in cultural practice technologies, viz., pre- and post-operative care, mussel feeding, optimal conditions for pearl mussel culture, and water quality management.