JAPAN: OYSTER DISEASE PUTS PEARL INDUSTRY UNDER THREAT

Japanese/Nat Japan's pearl industry is facing disruption and possible ruin due to a mysterious disease which is killing oysters. Half of the oyster stock has already died this past season and cultivators fear the industry may soon dry up completely. Monks are praying for the spirit of the oyster shells at the annual pearl festival at Gulf Ago on the southern coast of Japan, heart of the pearl industry. But this year they are also praying for the survival of the entire industry. A mysterious disease is killing the oysters. Japan has been the world's biggest pearl producer since the discovery of pearl cultivation technology a century ago. Now the industry is facing its worst crisis ever. The mortality rate of oysters has surged to more than 50 per cent last year, much higher than the average of 20 per cent to 35 per cent. About 92 (m) million of the oysters - or nearly 55 per cent of the total mortalities were found in first and second-year pearl-bearing oysters. It spells disaster for Japanese pearl cultivators, whose margins have been falling over the years because of greater global competition. SOUNDBITE: (Japanese) "When the death rate is low, the cost is low but if they die en-masse the cost of production doubles." SUPER CAPTION: VOX POP, Pearl cultivator Local cultivators are baffled as to why the oysters are dying. Yasushi Iwaki, a forty year pearl veteran, says all he knows is that the disease is deadly. Iwaki lives on a small island in Gulf Ago in southern Japan which houses 90 families. So far this year, two thirds of his oyster shells have been damaged by the disease. Marine biologists recently speculated the culprit might be a shellfish parasite called perkinsus, which devastated oysters in the Mississippi River delta nearly 50 years ago. Pearl cultivators are fearing for their livelihoods. SOUNDBITE: (Japanese) "We cannot keep on going in this way." SUPER CAPTION: Yasushi Iwaki, Pearl grower Some pearl growers suspect artificial insemination and other scientific tinkering may have inadvertently spawned oysters that are more prone to disease. Although the bigger and more expensive South Sea pearls from Australia and Tahiti are gaining ground, Japan's Akoya cultured pearls still dominate much of the world market. Sixty five per cent of sales take place in the United States. But the Chinese are now producing more Akoya pearls. Keeping the Japanese cultured Akoyas on the market has become increasingly difficult. Kokichi Mikimoto, founder of Japan's top pearl company, Mikimoto and Co. started cultivating pearls 105 years ago. He learned how to induce oysters to grow pearls. Technological improvements have made the process relatively easy and amazingly exact. A tint of pink or extra glow can be added to harvested pearls. For the time being, shrinking demand at home because of Asia's recession, has kept the lack of stock from driving up retail prices too far. Japanese jewellers increased their pearl stocks when they first heard about the problem, but say they could soon start to run out. Cultivators says this harvest will be the most crucial to their economic survival. Up to half of the growers will be forced out of the industry if January's harvest proves to be again, a disappointment. In keeping with Kokichi Mikimoto's tradition, Iwaki wants the industry to survive long after he's gone. SOUNDBITE: (Japanese) "We are stepping into the very severe winter period. However, we have to survive through it and we are willing and determined to continue the business to next generation and the next generation." SUPER CAPTION: Yasushi Iwaki, Pearl Cultivator You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/3f7dc51b2a59a68534b0a97ba633a9b0 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork