| At the end of the general research programme on nacre (PGRN; 1999) and the beginning of the second development contract (2001), an agreement between Ifremer and the French Polynesian Territory was set up to characterise four pearl-producing atolls. During the PGRN, a model on nacre growth was constructed based on data acquired on the pilot site at Takapoto, a closed atoll of the Tuamotu Archipelago. Since then, pearl cultivation has developed on 34 atolls and a network for monitoring growth has been implemented in several atolls. The variability of several hydrobiological parameters was addressed in four of these sites. These sites included Raietea, a high island; Manihi and Takaroa, both single-channel atolls; and Makemo, a two-channel atoll and quite... |
