Economic assessment of community-based pearl oyster spat collection and mabe pearl production in the western Pacific

Cultured pearl production, and associated activities, are of crucial social and economic importance to remote coastal communities in Polynesia and the western Pacific. This study determined the potential profitability of (1) community-based pearl oyster spat collection operations targeting Pinctada margaritifera, and the subsequent sale of pearl oysters to round pearl farms; and (2) the use of Pteria penguin, collected incidentally from P. margaritifera spat collection operations, for mabe pearl production. The spat collection farm modelled in this study comprised four 100-m longlines supporting 1240 commercial spat collectors, with an estimated capital cost of $1245 (all figures in USD). The spat collection operation produced 2332 saleable P. margaritifera pearl oysters (sold to round pearl culture operations) with estimated NPV of $10,439. The MIRK generated was 12.24%, with a benefit-cost ratio was 1.52, and a payback period of 4 years. The downstream mabe pearl farm modelled in this study comprised two 100-m longlines supporting 2000 implanted Pt penguin oysters with an estimated capital cost of $7319. Annual production of 5400 mabe pearls generated an NPV of $491,864. The MIRK and benefit-cost ratio of the modelled mabe pearl farm were 22.64% and 7.24, respectively, with a payback period of 3 years. Incorporating production and price risk into the model reduced the expected NPV of the mabe pearl farm to $297,507. The models developed in this study provide valuable new information for prospective pearl oyster spat and mabe pearl farming community groups, donors, funding bodies and other stakeholders, and provide a valuable extension tool supporting further development of the pearl sector in Fiji and the broader Indo-Pacific region.