A journey of oyster cultivation and pearl harvest in Phú Quốc – Việt Nam's 'Pearl Island'

Since 2007, Việt Nam has produced pearls that rival or even surpass those from Japan and China in beauty, thanks to its warmer and less polluted seawater.

What began as a routine getaway soon turned into an unexpected journey of discovery for Đinh Lan Anh, a tourist from Hà Nội, when she witnessed the intricate art of pearl harvesting and refinement on Phú Quốc, Việt Nam’s famed “Pearl Island” in An Giang Province.

Following instructions, Anh boarded a boat at 7am from Rạch Vẹm pier, 25km north of the Dương Đông, now part of the Phú Quốc Special Administrative Zone. After a 15-minute ride across the sea, she arrived at an oyster farm.

Guided along rows of floating buoys, the boat stopped at points where crew members and visitors leaned over the deck to pull up ropes bearing cages of Pinctada maxima oysters, cultivated for five years. One by one, the cages were stacked on the deck.

By 8am, the boat returned to the processing area, where dozens of workers were already in motion – some swiftly opening oysters, others feeding trays of oyster flesh into machines with limewater to extract pearls, while colleagues inspected, measured and sorted the glistening gems.

SOURCE: https://vietnamnews.vn/sunday/features/1726912/a-journey-of-oyster-cultivation-and-pearl-harvest-in-phu-quoc-viet-nam-s-pearl-island.html