| Thousands of uncultivated islands, including Buccaneer Archipelago, emerge from the waters off the jagged, eroded coasts of northwestern Australia. The waters of the Timor Sea that surround these islands have remained relatively untouched by pollution, which has allowed fragile species such as the Pinctada maxima oyster to develop. Harvested in their natural setting, the sea floor, these mollusks are exploited for the production of cultured pearls. Australian pearls, 80 percent of which come from the west of the country, are twice as large (averaging a half-inch, or 12 mm, in diameter) and, according to experts, finer in appearance than those of Japan, which pioneered the pearl industry at the turn of the 20th century and remains the world’s leading producer. Since 1992, the spectacular rise of the Australian pearl industry—from an average of one ton before 1993 to more than 8 tons a year in 1999—has led a major drop in prices. European and American imports doubled and quadrupled between 1995 and 2000. Today, pearlfarmers are debating whether it is worth increasing yields even further, at the risk of losing their reputation for quality. |
.&title2=Buccaneer archipelago, West Kimberley, Australia (16°17’S, 123°20’E).&title3=Archipiélago de los Bucaneros, West Kimberley, Australia (16°17’S-123°20’E). "download in wallpaper")
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