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Pearl Diving (Tahiti)

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kevtron

Well-Known Member
Sep 6, 2010
139
13
58
I'll be down in Tahiti in February for my honeymoon, and I've found that pearls are a pretty big thing down there. Because it's quite expensive I plan on quite a few days of just taking the free kayak from our guesthouse and going out snorkeling. I figure it'd be awesome if I was able to find something down there. Don't care about size or quality, just to come back with my own Tahitian pearl would be amazing.

Anyone know anything about pearl diving at all, let alone specifically around the Tahitian islands (Bora Bora, Moorea...)? I'm sure the odds are pretty damn small, and I've never looked for oysters much while diving before. Is it even possible to find something? Any types of places or things I should look for?

Cheers!
 
You'll need to look for pearly oysters- not your typical rock oysters. They live on the bed of the ocean and are large and circularish like a plate. They like a lot of current and clean water and can be down quite deep. You would have to collect them and bring them to the surface, you then need to open them (killing them) and look for pearls in the mantle- the lips of the clam. The muscles are quite tasty eating but any pearls you find wont be very large- most of the keshi's I see are 5mm max. Keep the shells too they are pretty with a bit of a clean up. The pearls will then need polishing, most pearl farms use tumblers with a variety of abrasive to bring out the shine.

Honestly I dont think its worth destroying the natural stocks when you can buy keshi's from pearl farms for $2-5 each or less! Most pearls arent that expensive, its only the perfect ones that fetch a reasonable price and your chance of finding one that size is very small.

You could ask around at some of the pearl farms if you could dive below their lines and look for pearls that have been rejected and fallen to the floor, however the saltwater destroys the nacre on pearls and pearlshell quickly so to get the best quality you need to freshly kill/ harvest the pearls/shell from the clam.
 
Hi Teonanacatl: do you live on Tahiti?

I'll be vacationing in Tahiti and surrounding islands for 3 weeks Oct-Nov. I would love to spend some of that time freediving. I could use a diving buddy, so if you're willing to include an extra man in your group, I'd be happy to keep an eye out for any dangers while you're under.


Thanks,
Jon
 
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