Hatcheries are beginning to produce pearl oysters to even out variations in supply from the wild stock. However, cultivating the tiny spat through to a seeding-sized oyster of about three years old involves considerable costs and may limit the ability to replace wild-caught oysters. Early assessments of hatchery-reared oysters are promising, and pearls harvested from hatchery animals are of good quality. The collection of wild spat is an alternative to hatcheries. The spat settle out of the water on to artificial collectors which are left in the water for 11-12 months. The spat are then removed from the collectors and raised in nursery areas. Spat collection was practiced by some sections of the industry in the early to mid-1990s but breeding technology has now surpassed the need to use spat collectors so this practice has been reduced. Pearling licencees are issued with hatchery options (i.e. they can use a specified number of oysters from a hatchery for round pearl production in addition to their wild quota). This measure is designed to encourage the development of, and interest in, new technology in the industry without destabilising production and possibly affecting pearl prices. Increased availability of oysters may allow them to be used for training future technicians and development of improved husbandry techniques. Future research will involve gaining further data on factors affecting recruitment of wild oysters, including breeding stock levels: these factors are mainly environmental conditions around the time of spawning and early settlement of spat. | 