Far East: What Does Sustainable Pearl Farming Look Like? The Philippines Has An Answer

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On the island of Palawan in the Philippines, the stunning beauty of white sand coasts and gigantic caves hides the true beauty of the island - its pearls. The Golden South Sea pearl, as the name suggests, is a pearl type produced mainly on the island of Palawan in the Philippines. This particular pearl type, however, was almost eradicated when the island became plagued with pollution from cyanide fishing and destructive farming practices and the changing tidal currents from the ocean and oceanic temperatures shifts due to global warming. For the pearl farmers on the island of Palawan, the time has come for sustainable pearl farming to be implemented. To preserve the pearl that was known as one of the most valuable pearls in the world and carry on the occupation that has been supporting their livelihood for generations.

Why are pearls so valuable?

Be it on the necks of Queens or First Ladies, pearls have become a symbol of wealth, power, and serenity. Pearls are well noted for their shiny characteristics that, as the Romans noted, resemble the tears of heavenly creatures or sun-touched dew drops.

QUeen elizabeth i’s “armada portrait”

Pearls as a luxury item can be traced back millennia, from when Julius Caesar, the infamous Roman statesman, purchased a pearl for Servilia, one of his lovers, that cost over six million sesterces (over $1.5 billion today) in 59 BC. Later, Queen Elizabeth I, known as the Virgin Queen, associated pearls with Cynthia, the Greek goddess of the Moon, who was also a virgin. This can be seen in her portraits such as the Armada Portrait where she was fully adorned with pearls, further cementing the luxurious status of pearls for royalty and the powerful ever since.

How are pearls traditionally cultivated?

Despite its Western popularity, pearls were first properly cultured in the East. China has cultured them for thousands of years in its rivers and lakes with a historical document mentioning this practice dating all the way back to 2206 BC. Then it was the Japanese who successfully made the whole cultured pearls at the end of the 19th century. Up until the Japanese discovered commercial pearl cultivation, it was a time-consuming and labor-intensive process, often requiring manual input of small molds or objects into the shell of freshwater mussels. As time goes by, the mussels would deposit layers of nacre on the mold, resulting in pearl formation.

Today, pearl cultivation is done in many countries and regions across the globe as each environment provides specific characteristics to the pearl. Despite pearl cultivation occurring worldwide, the process has remained largely unchanged for centuries, closely mirroring the techniques used by the Song Chinese over a thousand years ago. First, the pearl oysters are introduced to a minute irritant. Then, farmers place them in nutrient-rich waters—whether for saltwater or freshwater pearls. This stage is crucial, as the oysters require ample nutrients to develop a pearl. As the oysters generate nacres, enveloping the irritants, a pearl will slowly form over the span of six months to four years, ultimately becoming the precious pearls we know and love.

pearl harvestation

With the increasing demand for pearls, however, this method of pearl cultivation has resulted in a variety of issues ranging from the destruction of natural oceanic ecology to the pollution from the farms themselves. For many countries, like the Philippines, the polluted oceanic ecology means lower pearl production and ultimately, less profit. Reports have shown that the country has seen a 25 to 30% drop in their signature Golden South Sea pearl production.

Rise of Sustainable Pearl Farming in Palawan, the Philippines

golden south sea pearl

Despite this decline, the pearl farmers on the island of Palawan in the Philippines have not given up. One of the pearls that the Philippines is well known for is called the Golden South Sea pearl to which there are only two species that produce such colored pearls: the Black Lip Pearl oyster and the Gold Lip Pearl oyster. These two species are quite fragile, in fact, their survival rate up until the point that they start yielding pearls is only at around 30%. Along with the increasing environmental pollution that exposes the oysters to improper amounts of heat or too strong currents, the survivability of these oysters was at an all-time low until the pearl farmers on the island of Palawan implemented sustainable pearl farming practices.

The practice includes lobbying against the practice of cyanide fishing to lower the pollution impact in the sea as well as avoiding the usage of any artificial treatments both in the oyster’s nursery up until the process of extracting the pearls to avoid further water contamination which could ultimately impact pearl production on the island as well. Some farmers have also switched to using environmentally friendly and more cost-effective local bamboo to raise the oysters in the sea instead of using metal bars or frames. 

With the latest programme introduced by the jewellery company The Jewelmer and the Save Palawan Seas Foundation (SPSF), over 500 coconut trees were planted to help minimize shoreline erosion along with 1,000 mangrove seedlings that were planted across four different sites to maintain the local biodiversity. The result is an enhanced marine biodiversity that nurtures and preserves the Philippines’ world-renowned Golden South Seas pearl,  generating strong demand and sustainable income for local farmers on the island of Palawan. The bamboo oyster frames have also acted as a protective zone, sheltering the shorelines for the marine life’s recovery after years of predation. The oysters themselves have also acted as water filters, further improving quality and encouraging diverse ecosystems to flourish in cleaner oceanic ecosystems.

Today, with its production volume of over 400 kan or 1.5 tonnes a year and a valuation of over $17 million, sustainable pearl farming on the island of Palawan in the Philippines has proven to the world that when implemented properly and promptly, pearl oysters can boost both economic and environmental sustainability, supporting the livelihood of the local community and preserves the local ecology while yielding the highly valuable and shiny pearl.