POLYPERL: scientists pry into the world of pearl oysters

In 30 years’ time, pearl culture has become a critical economic activity in French Polynesia. To counter the crisis affecting the sector, the POLYPERL project, launched in February 2012 and funded by ANR over a period of four years in the amount of €707 k, seeks to both further fundamental knowledge on oyster pearls and their culture, as well as produce operational tools for industry professionals with a view to sustainable and integrated management of pearl culture in French Polynesia.

Based on the farming of a single species, the pearl oyster Pinctada margaritifera, pearl culture currently makes up 80% of French Polynesian exports. The sector is currently reeling from an unprecedented crisis whose causes appear to be both structural and cyclical.

Taking on a holistic approach

To broaden the range of solutions for addressing this crisis, the POLYPERL project’s partners explored the pearl culture activity as a whole. Oyster culture biology, genetic diversity, socio-economic drivers of pearl production and risk management strategies adopted by French Polynesia are but a few of the aspects the project has touched upon.

Bringing together scientists, industry stakeholders and government services

Beyond its multi-stakeholder approach, the project’s originality resides in its implementation of a research-action initiative. Bringing on board scientists, producers and government services, POLYPERL sets out to explore a variety of solutions to preserve and improve the eco-efficiency of pearl culture in Polynesia, put at risk by global changes.

The POLYPERL project is coordinated by the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea (Ifremer). It brings together the University of French Polynesia (UPF), la Direction des Ressources Marines et Minières (DRMM), the Insular Research Center and Environment Observatory (CRIOBE), l’Institut de Recherches pour le Développement (IRD), the Te Mana O Te Moana organisation, the Montpellier Theoretical and Applied Economics Laboratory (LAMETA), UMR Aménagement des Usages des Ressources et des Espaces marins et littoraux (AMURE), Gauguin’s Pearl pearl farm and the Skuldtech company (name recently changed to Acobiom). The project was launched in 2012 and set to run over a three-year period. As part of the Agrobiosphère programme, it benefits from an ANR grant worth roughly €710 k ANR, which goes toward defraying its €3 m cost.

Find out more:

Project summary on the ANR website
Project website www.polyperl.org

Photo: Yves Gueguen Ifremer

Last updated on 21 March 2019