CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri (left), meeting in Hong Kong with Semi Koroilavesau, the Minister of Fisheries of the Republic of Fiji

Fiji, which is a relative newcomer to the South Pacific pearl industry, is home to a growing perliculture sector, which in 2017 is forecast to produce about 30,000 pearls. The country's Ministry of Fisheries, which has jurisdiction over the sector, is strategically committed to developing the economic potential of the country's marine sources, while at the same time ensuring that that such activities are environmentally sustainable and have wide-ranging positive social impacts.

During the meeting Mr. Koroilavesau outlined the Fijian government's long-term plan for its pearl sector, and reiterated its goal that the country become a significant producer of high-quality pearls, of distinctive appearance and character, for which the principles of social and environmental sustainability are an integral component of their brand identity. For the people of Fiji, he said, pearls are not simply jewels of the ocean, but they also represent the promise of a better and sustainable future.

"Fiji is as exciting prospect for our industry, and not only because of its already proven ability to produce pearls of exceptional quality," said Dr. Cavalieri. "Its pearl industry will flourish also though the respect its shows for the marine environment, and through the support it provides the farming communities and their stakeholders. CIBJO is proud to be associated with such an enterprise."

Mr. Koroilavesau invited Dr. Cavalieri to join the Fijian delegation at the World Oceans Day Session at the United Nations in New York on June 8, where its plan for an environmentally and socially sustainable national pearl sector will be publicly presented.