Mikeyy
Pearl Diver
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2006
- Messages
- 1,083
A group that is trying to improve the health of the Nakagawa Canal in Nagoya is attempting to produce pearls in it to purify the water.
So far, Ise-wan Forum (Ise Bay Forum) has managed to create "baby pearls" with thin layers of nacre around each bead. The nonprofit organization now wants to see if they can reach full size.
"The pearls are a gift from the canal. We hope to make more magnificent pearls next year," a member of the NPO said.
The group began the pearl project last year in an attempt to clean up the polluted canal using Akoya pearl oysters, which have water purification abilities. They are kept next to the Nakagawaguchi water pump station near Nagoya port.
Initially, the group tried placing 120 oysters about 1 km upstream from the canal, but all of them died before any pearls could form.
On Oct. 10, however, an examination of the group's latest batch of oysters showed their luck may have changed.
"I wonder how many have formed into pearls," one member said.
When the net was raised from the canal, the unique smell of sludge permeated the air.
The last 27 shells left alive from the previous month's examination were all dead. But among them, the group found 14 tiny beads measuring about 3 to 5 mm in diameter that were thinly covered by lustrous nacre.
The group hailed the find as a success.
"It's so romantic that the canal can produce pearls," Ise-wan member Tokuko Niwa, 76, said.
According to Ise-wan Forum, there are certain conditions that must be met for oysters to grow properly.
For example, the temperature of the water must be above 10 degrees and the salinity around 2 percent.
Plankton must also be around for the oysters go grow, but the sludge-filled water in the upper stream wasn't clean enough to sustain the tiny mollusks.
As a result, they decided to move the breeding grounds this year to the water pump station, where seawater flows in regularly. They placed 90 oysters in the area.
Compared with store-bought pearls, the ones produced in the canal are smaller and have thinner layers of nacre. They will be used to educate children on environmental issues during the forum's activities.
The Nakagawa Canal was completed in 1930 and is 8.2 km long and 91 meters at its widest point.
At its peak, 75,000 boats used the canal each year to transport goods from Nagoya port to the city's center.
The water used to be clean enough for people to swim, but the quality deteriorated rapidly in the 1940s as industrial and residential waste was discharged into the canal.
The situation improved in the 1970s when the Water Quality Pollution Control Act took effect and the sewer system was upgraded.
But even today, its quality has only improved to the point where "people are not offended by walking near" the canal.
"Perhaps the reason why the shells died was because of the desalination of the canal water from the heavy rain," forum director Mitsumasa Sakamoto, 64, said.
"But if you look at the water quality, it's a promising sign that we could produce this amount of pearls. I hope that one day we can create pearls that will be known as products of the Nakagawa Canal," he said.
The city of Nagoya has recently launched the Nakagawa Canal Revival Project to revitalize the canal.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20121027cc.html
So far, Ise-wan Forum (Ise Bay Forum) has managed to create "baby pearls" with thin layers of nacre around each bead. The nonprofit organization now wants to see if they can reach full size.
"The pearls are a gift from the canal. We hope to make more magnificent pearls next year," a member of the NPO said.
The group began the pearl project last year in an attempt to clean up the polluted canal using Akoya pearl oysters, which have water purification abilities. They are kept next to the Nakagawaguchi water pump station near Nagoya port.
Initially, the group tried placing 120 oysters about 1 km upstream from the canal, but all of them died before any pearls could form.
On Oct. 10, however, an examination of the group's latest batch of oysters showed their luck may have changed.
"I wonder how many have formed into pearls," one member said.
When the net was raised from the canal, the unique smell of sludge permeated the air.
The last 27 shells left alive from the previous month's examination were all dead. But among them, the group found 14 tiny beads measuring about 3 to 5 mm in diameter that were thinly covered by lustrous nacre.
The group hailed the find as a success.
"It's so romantic that the canal can produce pearls," Ise-wan member Tokuko Niwa, 76, said.
According to Ise-wan Forum, there are certain conditions that must be met for oysters to grow properly.
For example, the temperature of the water must be above 10 degrees and the salinity around 2 percent.
Plankton must also be around for the oysters go grow, but the sludge-filled water in the upper stream wasn't clean enough to sustain the tiny mollusks.
As a result, they decided to move the breeding grounds this year to the water pump station, where seawater flows in regularly. They placed 90 oysters in the area.
Compared with store-bought pearls, the ones produced in the canal are smaller and have thinner layers of nacre. They will be used to educate children on environmental issues during the forum's activities.
The Nakagawa Canal was completed in 1930 and is 8.2 km long and 91 meters at its widest point.
At its peak, 75,000 boats used the canal each year to transport goods from Nagoya port to the city's center.
The water used to be clean enough for people to swim, but the quality deteriorated rapidly in the 1940s as industrial and residential waste was discharged into the canal.
The situation improved in the 1970s when the Water Quality Pollution Control Act took effect and the sewer system was upgraded.
But even today, its quality has only improved to the point where "people are not offended by walking near" the canal.
"Perhaps the reason why the shells died was because of the desalination of the canal water from the heavy rain," forum director Mitsumasa Sakamoto, 64, said.
"But if you look at the water quality, it's a promising sign that we could produce this amount of pearls. I hope that one day we can create pearls that will be known as products of the Nakagawa Canal," he said.
The city of Nagoya has recently launched the Nakagawa Canal Revival Project to revitalize the canal.
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/nn20121027cc.html
