Tahitian Pearl Farming: A day in the life...

[maryd]

not much to do with pearls, but here is a great one of a kamoka kitty, sleeping it off after Josh's birthday... Yaaar!

That's just wrong. Funny, but wrong.

 

[GemGeek]

Nope, it's a hysterical crime of opportunity!

<sigh> I just love orange kitties!

 

[kojimapearl]

you are both correct... he he
life is too much fun, to let the opportunities slip past, especially if they are funny and wrong!

 

[GemGeek]

Yeah, it's the contrast of the tender little young body with the shocking bottle of hard liquor. I'd steal that cat if I had a chance. Muah hah ha!

There would be some opposition at home...

 

[Pearly Shell]

That is one hard core partying tabbie! No sissy rum for the cats.

 

[Josh]

This is a pic I took during Sheri's recent visit to the farm. You can just see her ankle on the right side of the frame (Sheri is that the foot preoctopus or was it the other foot?). The photo isn't that great but the fisheye lens captures the party vibe in a fun way.

 

[Nerida]

I am guessing that isn't tea in the teacup, Josh!

 

[pbazar]

Love the cat!!!

 

[la_corsetiere]

This is a pic I took during Sheri's recent visit to the farm. You can just see her ankle on the right side of the frame (Sheri is that the foot preoctopus or was it the other foot?). The photo isn't that great but the fisheye lens captures the party vibe in a fun way.

Yep, that's the foot preoctopus. Love the glamour shot! Brings back such memories - that was the first day I arrived - what a week I had in store!

Sheri

 

[ShashiRatna]

The oyster meat that is harvested is often the yummy plat de resistance of our noon meal. Lunch on the farm is lovingly prepared by Camelia who is seen here making something from nothing with for the ?th time. This pumpkin was probably grown in Timi's garden.

Hi Josh,

Love the sunrise pics. Also thanks for giving us a "behind the scene" look of pearl farms. Seems like an ideal job.

I was always afraid to ask - What happens to the oyster once we get the pearl? Reading your messages I understand that they are not wasted - the meat can be eaten. That's nice to know - at least we make full use of everything. Not that I am vegetarian (I don't eat beef, eat other stuff) but I have friends who won't eat meat and meat byproducts or wear leather or silk since the animal/worm is killed in the process. So I was just wondering what happens to oysters once they give us the pearl.

Also, how do you get new oysters? I mean how do you replace the bad oysters with new oysters?

Thanks.
ShashiRatna
A newbie

 

[Josh]

I am guessing that isn't tea in the teacup, Josh!

Yessih tiz. Tiz barrrrrrley tea!

Shashi, Yes it is a wonderful job and we love what we do.
And yes we do eat the meat. It's best raw with lime juice and tabasco or just barely seared with butter. You can eat the whole critter, oyster style, but it's tough and fairly viscous so you have to be made of sturdy stuff.
On our farm we recycle a large amount of the shells into nuclei which is a beautiful thing because it let's us turn a byproduct of our industry into a building "block" of it. Typically though the shells are milled into shirt buttons and shell jewelry. The mother of pearl shell of our oysters is very beautiful so there is still a good market for it world wide.
We are fortunate in French Polynesia to have strong natural stocks of black-lip mother of pearl so we can collect fairly easily from our lagoon, without dealing with complicated and expensive hatchery systems. My website goes into the details a bit more if you are interested.

 

[ShashiRatna]

My website goes into the details a bit more if you are interested.

Thank you Josh. Will look at your website.

Thanks.
ShashiRatna

 

[Josh]

These photos are from a trip to the farm a few weeks ago. Still flying the colors, yarrrr!

 

[Josh]

We had a couple days so glassy, the water in front of the farm turned into an aquarium. It was luck that the two butterflyfish seemed to be swimming towards the flash of my camera.

 

[Josh]

These are some of the more choice circled pearls. I don't usually shoot them with full sunlight but it gives kind of nice effect, half in like that.

 

[Josh]

Our tomcat Toerau, on a recup mission at the farm. He disappears in the brush for weeks on end but always makes it back, torn up and limping. I think he has some pitbull blood in those genes somewhere.

 

[Josh]

This is farm manager and all around superstar Laurent, grading out pearls at the end of the day.

 

[Josh]

Let me know if y'all get tired of sunsets because I don't. This is taken from the farm looking at our small motu (low strip of land that forms our part of the chain that makes up the atoll of Ahe)

 

[Josh]

Another photo of circles.

 

[Josh]

On the horizon between the Tibetan prayer flags (thanks Sarah!) you can see the supply schooner Mareva Nui arriving at dawn. All materials and food (that we can't catch on the island) and gas, etc comes on these boats. If anyone out there is ever hankering for adventure, these boats are an amazing vehicle for that and for getting a great idea for how much water and space makes up this "country."