World Aquaculture Magazine - June 2021

66 JUNE 2021 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S .ORG parasitic infection. For these reasons, the chances of getting good quantities of good-quality pearls may be lost over time. Mussels should be taken from the net bags, checked and cleaned before replacing. Sometimes, beccause of heavy nutrient loads, attached algae (periphyton) growth is observed on the mussels as they are sedentary and static inside the enclosures. Attention should be given to avoid this condition. Physico-chemical parameters and the water level of the ponds should be monitored throughout the culture period. The desirable water quality parameters for pearl mussel farming should be pH 7-8; dissolved oxygen 5 ppm, temperature 25-30 C, total alkalinity 80-100 ppm, total hardness 60 ppm and calcium 20-30 ppm. Harvesting The production cycle for implanted mussels can be twelve months or more, depending on method of implantation, size and number of nuclei implanted, health conditions of the mussels and the pond environment. At the conclusion of the culture period, harvesting of pearls is done carefully. The occurrence of pearls is a natural process and there is likely to be variation in the appearance and overall quality of harvested pearls. With an aim of maintaining uniform color and quality, value is added to harvested pearls by cleaning the surface or bleaching and dyeing to enhance their market value. Conclusion Freshwater pearl farming is one of the most alluring businesses in modern aquaculture, with considerable potential to be a vital component of the Indian aquaculture industry in the near future. Suitable research and policy interventions should be integrated into this sector to ensure better returns and livelihood security of pearl farmers. Proper pearl quality is the most important criterion in terms of trade value, so impetus should be focused towards research on improving cultured pearl quality. Many young farmers are attracted to pearl farming and business development. So, proper emphasis should be given to the advancement of pearl farming and the culture of pearl mussel in a more widespread way to make farming more sustainable. In the future, efforts should be made to develop new varieties of mussels that can produce high-quality pearls, development of new grafting techniques and sophisticated pearl mussel culture techniques can be researched and developed so that it will be possible to produce pearls in a shorter period with better survival. Notes Sweta Pradhan, Bindu R. Pillai, S. K. Swain and S. Saurabh * , ICAR- Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, Kausalyaganga, Bhubaneswar-751002, Odisha Sonal Suman, ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, Kausalyaganga, Bhubaneswar-751002, Odisha and ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Education, Panch Marg, Off Yari Road, Andheri (W), Mumbai-400061 * Corresponding Author: shaileshcifa@gmail.com References Alagarswami, K. 1987. Cultured pearls-production and quality. CMFRI Bulletin-Pearl culture 39:107-11. Gervis, M.H. and N.A. Sims. 1992. The biology and culture of pearl oysters ( Bivalvia pteriidae ). ICLARMStudies and Reviews 21. http://pubs.iclarm.net/libinfo/Pdf/Pub%20SR76%2021.pdf Janakiram, K. 2003. Freshwater pearl culture technology development in India. Journal of Applied Aquaculture 13(3-4):341-349. Pradhan, S., S. Saurabh and J.K. Sundaray. 2019. Designer pearl production in freshwater: An upcoming technology. Indian Farming 69(4):53-56. Saurabh, S., U.L. Mohanty, J. Mohanty and P. Jayasankar. 2014. Pearl culture technology in freshwater environment. Pages 5 1-78 In S. K. Gupta and P. K. Bharti, editors. Aquaculture and Fisheries Environment. Discovery Publishing House Pvt, Ltd. NewDelhi. India. Southgate, P.C., E. Strack, A. Hart, K.T. Wada, M. Monteforte, M. Cariño, S. Langy, C. Lo, H. Acosta-Salmon and A. Wang. 2008. Exploitation and culture of major commercial species. The Pearl Oyster 303:355. Zhu, C., P.C. Southgate and T. Li. 2019. Production of pearls. Pages 73-93 In Goods and Services of Marine Bivalves. Springer, Cham, Switzerland. Zoological Survey of India. 2003. http://faunaofindia.nic.in/ PDFVolumes/occpapers/192/index.pdf FIGURE 4. Mesh bags with implanted mussels are placed in earthen ponds.