Peroderma tasselum sp. Nov. (Lernaeoceriformes; Copepoda) parasitic on the fish Stolephorus commersonii Lacepede

The female of a copepod parasite, Peroderma tasselum sp. nov. parasitic on the fish Stolephorus commersonil is described from Tuticorin, southeast coast of India. The species can be distinguished from the only other known species of the genus, P. cylindricum, by the characteristic shape of the trunk

Marine pearl production

Pearls are harvested manually. Oysters are opened and pearls are squeezed out. In case 9,500 reuse, the pearls are removed carefully by opening the pearl- sac through the gonad without damaging it. The harvested pearls are washed in distilled water polished in refined salt and again washed in distilled wate

A report on window pane oyster fishery in Tuticorin bay

The window pane oyster (Placenta placenta) are fished regularly for pearls and shells from Kakinada Bay of Andhra Pradesh and Okhamandal Coast of Gulf of Kutch

Pearl culture

Pearl culture gives the highest gross income for unit area among aquaculture systems. The techniques developed by CMFRI to suit Indian condition have attracted the entrepreneurs to enter into the venture of pearl culture. The rate of return works out to more than 50%. The recent line of research on the onshore pearl oyster farming and pearl culture, can easily revolutionize the concept and this can be profitably taken up in the east and west coasts of India where prawn farming was successfully conducted. In this paper the cost of seed production and economics of pearl production is dealt with The possibilities of taking up production of seed of desired qualities through selective breeding, manipulation of conditions in the onshore tanks culture are counted as priorities. Black pearl production and farming and pearl culture in the natural beds are the other priorities

Biotechnical aspects in marine pearl production

India is one in the countries in the World having pearl oyster resource. The oysters are available in the Gulf of Mannar (southeast coast) in large number and ill the Gulf of Kutch northwest coast in lesser numbers. From time immemorial the oysters from thes regions were fished for natural pearls. The famed "Oriental pearls" of the ancient times were the pearls produced from here and the Middle-East Asia

The pearl oysters

An account of the pearl oyster resources with a brief note on biology, collection methods, seed production and conservation and management in the Indian subcontinent is dealt with in this paper. Both in the Gulf of Kutch and the Gulf of Mannar, the population does not show improvement. Conservation and management of this important resource in the light of the present R&D carried out by the CMFRI is discussed. Enhancement of the wild stock through the production of genetically improved seed in the hatchery and ranching them to selected beds and close monitoring of the physico-chemical and biological factors over a period of time is suggested. Farming of oysters on the natural beds can enhance the pearl quality and may form a breeding reserve

Indian experience of large scale cultured marine pearl production using Pinctada fucata (Gould) from southeast coast of India: A critical review

In India, research on marine pearl culture was started in 1972 and the first cultured marine pearl from Pinctada fucata was rolled out a year later through the earnest efforts of Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute, Kochi (CMFRI) at its Tuticorin Research Centre. Subsequently, improvements of the technology were made by various scientists involved at different centres of CMFRI focussing on different issues of marine pearl culture. Information on different aspects of marine pearl culture such as surveys for stock position, ecology of pearl beds, small scale experimental culture of mother oysters, surgical nucleation and spherical pearl and designer pearl production (‘mabe’) has already been published in various sources including few instances of technology transfers to entrepreneurs/fisher folk. Though, the experimental results were encouraging, anticipated technology transfer did not take place subsequently. Hence a large scale marine pearl culture demonstration was carried out and viability of the technology was redemonstrated at the Regional centre of CMFRI, Mandapam Camp during 1997 - 2003 through an ICAR Revolving Fund Project which resulted in wealth of information regarding different aspects of marine pearl culture. In the present account, the lessons learnt based on the published information as well as the data (unpublished) obtained in the large scale culture are analysed and classified under the critical activities of pearl culture and presented in the form of a ‘non systematic critical review’ essentially to arrive at the status of marine pearl culture in India

Pearl production in relation to the graft tissue in the pearl oyster Pinctada fucata (Gould)

This reports the results of study on which region of the mantle gives good quality pearls and also higher production rate. The mantle tissue from 4 areas namely anterior (a),posterior (b), middle (c), and central (d)regions were used. This study showed that the middle region of mantle when used as graft tissue resulted in not only high percentage of pearl formation (50.28%) but also, the marketable pearls (A, B and C - groups) accounted for 77.53% of the total pearls produced

Larval and juvenile rearing of black-lip pearl oyster, Pinctada margaritifera (Linnaeus)

The black-lip pearl oyster, Pinctada margaritifera (Linnaeus), has been cultured in the experimental shellfish hatchery at Tuticorin, India. The flagellates Isochrysis galbana and Pavlova lutheri were used independently as larval food at a concentration of 5 cells/μl up to day 5 and the ration was doubled thereafter until spat setting. The initial larval density was 1/ml. Straighthinge veliger stage (75×60 μm) was reached in 20 h, umbo stage (140×130 μm) on day 12, pediveliger (220×210 μm) on day 20 and plantigrade (260×240 μm) on day 23, and spat of 350×300 μm appeared on day 28. I. galbana promoted faster growth and early spat setting as compared to P. lutheri. The modal component of the larval population showed an average growth of 10.98 μm/day. A total of 6.3% of the initial larval population metamorphosed as spat. Juveniles cultured in the laboratory showed a growth rate of 0.09 mm/day. On transplantation to the culture raft in the farm, growth rate increased to 0.4 mm/day. The juveniles suffered heavy mortality after 4 months. It remains to be tested whether P. margaritifera juveniles would have a greater chance of survival in oceanic island conditions, as the natural distribution of the species in India is confined to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Manual on Pearl Oyster Seed Production, Farming and Pearl Culture

The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute has developed expertise on various marine fisheries and mariculture technologies over the past several years. Based on this expertise the Institute has been offering regular training courses to officials from State Governments, Universities, ICAR Institutes, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, training institutions, industry and progressive farmers on subjects like marine prawn hatchery, prawn farming, pearl oyster hatchery, pearl oyster culture, pearl culture, edible oyster hatchery, edible oyster farming, seaweed culture and utilisation, SCUBA diving, estimation of marine fish production and stock assessment. The Trainers' Training Centre (TTC) of the CMFRI, Cochin, established in the year 1983, has so far conducted 83 such trainings for 590 personnel from the various maritime states including Pondicherry, Lakshadweep and the Andaman & Nicobar Islands