Bad weather worries pearl farmer
17-Jan-2009 08:22 AM
THE director of Fiji’s biggest Black Pearl farm, Justin Hunter is worried that about the impact of the continuous rainy weather on the industry.
Hunter, who runs J Hunter Pearls said he was worried about the quality of water in the bay as there is a lot of fresh water.
“I’m abit worried about the rain because there is a lot of fresh water and there could be problems,” he said.
“We have been doing water qualities in the past few weeks and have found out a lot of differences when comparing the quality of salt water to fresh water.”
He added that where there used to be 30-35 per cent salt water, the content was now 25-30 per cent.
“In one metre of water we have 20 percent salt water but now if we take 5metres where the pearls are now it is 25-30 per cent of what used to be 32-35 per cent,” said Hunter.
And he said too much fresh water could create problems for the pearls.
However, Hunter is well aware of how pearl farming is susceptible to nature.
“We knew this was coming so we put away with all the best things and are now only waiting for the weather to clear up,” he said.
He added that rain had just started picking up again after it had stopped on Tuesday.
According to Hunter the pearls that are currently breeding would be worth more than $1 million.
By ISAAC LAL |
