Does PNG have a pearl industry?

[Mary Montpezat]

Does anyone know whether Papua New Guinea has a pearl industry, even a nascent one? I would think it would be a suitable industry for PNG (my reservations about safety standards notwithstanding!)

 

[Agustus-Collection]

Hi of course they have !!! All the way to the Raja Ampat Islands which has for us the most beautiful pearls available !

 

[Agustus-Collection]

taken from our guides:

Papua New Guinea South Sea Pearls

The Island of New Guinea is situated south of the equator and is the world's second largest island after Greenland.

The independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands (the western portion of the island is a part of the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua). It is located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, in a region defined since the early 19th century as Melanesia. The capital is Port Moresby.

Papua New Guinea is one of the most diverse countries on Earth.

When the first Europeans arrived in the 16th century, they encountered strange and dangerous looking natives, who still lived in a Stone Age environment. This remains true for several tribes even today combined with a mountain range which has a height of over 4,000 meters in some places, the humid tropical climate and the dense tropical rain forests make large areas inaccessible. On the other hand, it means that a wide spectrum of original and rare animal and plant species have been allowed to remain undisturbed.

Papua New Guinea is one of the most heterogeneous nations in the world. There are hundreds of ethnic groups indigenous to Papua New Guinea, the majority being from the group known as Papuans, whose ancestors arrived in the New Guinea region tens of thousands of years ago. Many remote Papuan tribes still have only marginal contact with the outside world. The majority of the population lives in traditional societies and practice subsistence-based agriculture.

The country is one of the worlds least explored, culturally and geographically, and many undiscovered species of plants and animals are thought to exist in the interior of Papua New Guinea.


The country's geography is diverse and, in places, extremely rugged. A spine of mountains runs the length of the island of New Guinea, forming a populous highlands region. Dense rainforests can be found in the lowland and coastal areas.

Pearl farming in Papua New Guinea

Several species of pearl oysters are found in Australian waters. The main pearling industry is based on the silver lipped pearl oyster (Pinctada maxima), which produces high quality cultured pearls known as South Sea pearls.

This species is found across the central Indo-Pacific region from India to Papua New Guinea and from the Philippines, to Australia.

One of the first pearl farms of Papua New Guinea is located in the clear ocean waters off Daga Daga Island and became the "Pearl Island" of New Guinea. Further farms were established on the neighboring islands of Sariba, Sideai and Basilaki.

The magnificent natural colors and shapes of South Sea Pearls cultured in Papua New Guinea are as wild and colorful as the island itself.

 

[Agustus-Collection]

Raja Ampat Islands from our guides:

Raja Ampat Islands South Sea Pearls

The Raja Ampat Archipelago is located off the northwest tip of Bird's Head Peninsula on the island of New Guinea, in Indonesia's West Papua province ~ on the far side of the world.

Raja Ampat, or the Four Kings, is an archipelago comprising over 1,500 small islands, cays and shoals surrounding the four main islands of Misool, Salawati, Batanta and Waigeo. The islands straddling either side of the equator link a strand of a 1000 pearls.

It encompasses more than 9.8 million acres (40,000 km?) of land and sea, which also contains Cenderawasih Bay (Bird of Paradise Bay), the largest marine national park in Indonesia. It is a part of the newly named West Papua (province) of Indonesia which was formerly Irian Jaya.

Raja Ampat Islands, a name dating back to the 15th century, when the Sultanate of Tidore - one of the muslim sultanates in the original Maluku west of Halmahera - appointed four local "rajas" (Kings) in Misool, Salawati, Batanta and Waigeo.

According to Conservation International, marine surveys suggest that the marine life diversity in the Raja Ampat area is the highest recorded on Earth ~ the beating heart of the coral universe.

Diversity is considerably greater than any other area sampled in the Coral Triangle composed of Indonesia, Philippines and Papua New Guinea. The Coral Triangle is the heart of the world's coral reef biodiversity, making Raja Ampat quite possibly the richest coral reef ecosystems in the world.

The area's massive coral colonies along with relatively high sea surface temperatures, also suggest that its reefs may be relatively resistant to threats like coral bleaching and coral disease, which now jeopardise the survival of other coral ecosystems around the world. The Raja Ampat islands are remote and relatively undisturbed by humans.

The high marine diversity in Raja Ampat is strongly influenced by its position between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, as coral and fish larvae are more easily shared between the two oceans. Raja Ampat's coral diversity, resilience, and role as a source for larval dispersal make it a global priority for marine protection.

The nutrient-rich sea of the Raja Ampat Archipelago produces some of the world's finest South Sea pearls.

 

[Caitlin]

Those are the waters Tom Sterns gets natural pearls from around there. See Tom's Stern's natural pearls thread for many excellent pearls found around there and the Sulu Sea.

 

[Mary Montpezat]

Wow! That is great info, thanks. PNG has many wonderful surprises, as well as fantastic people. It looks as though much of the pearling might be Papua (part of Indonesia) though, rather than PNG. I'll look at the maps!

 

[Amanda]

Don't they have a nasty habit of eating people there?

 

[Mary Montpezat]

Don't they have a nasty habit of eating people there?

Amanda, I am happy to respond to your post, and I am glad it was framed as a question!

The PNG population consists of amazing people, many of whom helped the Allied War Effort during World War II and we are forever indebted to them. PNG is an influential, highly valued and respected neighbour of Australia's, and a large number of PNG people are in Australia's far north at any time. PNG's education system faces challenges, but is bringing about amazing results. Only two weekends my organisation played host to tertiary-educated and highly literate journalists from PNG, and the visit was highly successful - great exchanges of ideas. One of PNG's foremost politicians is Australian-born, Dame Carole Kidu.

PNG is resource-rich and water-rich with a very fast-growing economy. Its highlands are breathtakingly beautiful, as are its amazing flora and birdlife. Far from being mocked as a country inhabited by cannibals, Papua New Guinea and its wonderful people warrant understanding, respect and engagement.

 

[Bodecia]

My father fought in Papua New Guinea against invading Japanese during the War and our men had a great admiration for the PNG people calling them Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels. They helped our men and carried our wounded soldiers down the mountains on stretchers and on their backs. These soldiers would have died without their help.

The natives from East Timor also helped our men during the war and many Australians, including me, feel our Government let the East Timorese peoples down when they were invaded by Indonesian troops in the 70s.

It is possible there are some tribes in PNG that still practice cannabalism in some areas, but for the most part that was a couple of generations ago. To each his own. That was just a custom practised mainly on enemies as was head shrinking. I believe sometimes it was a way to venerate the dead of loved ones by eating the brain, but that was a dangerous practice and led to disease similar to Mad Cow's disease. I am sure that back in the past if we dig deep enough this was practiced all over the world by all our ancestors.

But they are a wonderful people as all our soldiers said, they were our Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels. Not a politically correct statement but meant with love.

Dawn - Bodecia
http://www.ebay.com/sch/dawncee333/m.html
eBay Seller ID dawncee333 and natural pearl collector and all round pearl lover

 

[pearlescence]

PNG is a member of the Commonwealth.
Good enough for me

 

[Nora]

It is possible there are some tribes in PNG that still practice cannabalism in some areas, but for the most part that was a couple of generations ago.

Do not forget their famous dish, Rockefeller salad with real Rockefeller.

 

[Cees]

We talk about Papua here, the part which belongs to Indonesia and not PNG. The pearl farm there belongs to Atlas and Australian company. Robert Verspui just published a book Tears of the Moon with many photo's. I met up with him and purchased a book from him.

 

[Caitlin]

Do not forget their famous dish, Rockefeller salad with real Rockefeller.

I do remember when that happened. Maybe that is how some people feel about anthropologists coming in and changing things ....... [wry smile] I have to add that many defend the idea that his boat capsized. At least that is what the guy who survived the accident said.

I LOVE their dogs!

 

[Caitlin]

We talk about Papua here, the part which belongs to Indonesia and not PNG. The pearl farm there belongs to Atlas and Australian company. Robert Verspui just published a book Tears of the Moon with many photo's. I met up with him and purchased a book from him.

Cees. You are absolutely correct, but PNG has to be one of the most fascinatingly diverse places in the world, with many languages and many cultural styles, and some of the least understood forests and herbal medicines- and of course, when and if, they too, could grow pearls- my rational for getting sidetracked.

 

[Caitlin]

We're talking about pearls from PNG, right? Where/how does Atlas get their pearls?

 

[lisa c]

Do not forget their famous dish, Rockefeller salad with real Rockefeller.

Oh well. What’s one Rockefeller amongst friends?
hi Nora!
of course, irl, not funny, but comic humor can’t always be sunny. If he were my son....

(I’m going to get banned for sure, for my twisted sense of humor. Should there be a DarkSidePearlGuide?)

 

[Nora]

Oh well. What’s one Rockefeller amongst friends?
hi Nora!
of course, irl, not funny, but comic humor can’t always be sunny. If he were my son....

(I’m going to get banned for sure, for my twisted sense of humor. Should there be a DarkSidePearlGuide?)

Hi Lisa!
There is nothing better than a good black humor, especially in times like today......

 

[CortezPearls]

Joking aside
"The Lapidary Journal" ran a series of articles written by C. Denis George, an Australian Pearling expert (first non-Japanese to learn the pearl grafting technique). I believe this was way back in the early 1980's...anyway, he visited Papua and even started a small-scale pearl farm there and was teaching the locals how to raise their black-lips and produce pearls...when...he had to stop.
He was actually halted.
His story is fantastic. I met him back in 1994 and he had amazing life story. He passed away some years now.