The price-value anomaly is obvious to consumers as they hasten to buy Chinese freshwater bargains. Indeed, pearls from freshwater mussels lie at the center of the liveliest activity in pearling today.

Chinese pearls came mainly from freshwater rivers and ponds, whereas Japanese pearls were found near the coast in salt water. Nearly all the pearls in commerce originated from those few sources.

About 200 years ago pearl mussels were harvested for, as the name suggests, pearls. However, the name can mislead - only about one per cent of them contain this hidden 'treasure' (and most of ...

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Before the development of plastic, buttons were made from mussel shells. Freshwater pearls are still cultured by inserting small pieces of native mussel shell into oysters. Mussels are fascinating ...

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Pearls are made by marine oysters and freshwater mussels as a natural defence against an irritant such as a parasite entering their shell or damage to their fragile body. The oyster or mussel slowly ...

Freshwater habitats face a multitude of threats, but it's not too late to save these environments. 2 min read Freshwater ecosystems are essential for human survival, providing the majority of ...

The Abernethy Pearl - the largest Scottish freshwater pearl found in living memory - was discovered in 1967 and was named ...

The largest Scottish freshwater pearl found in living memory is being auctioned, nearly six decades after its discovery. The Abernethy Pearl is expected to fetch between £40,000 and £60,000 when ...

Freshwater mussels are one of the most endangered groups of animals in the world — over 80 species are protected under the Endangered Species Act and >20 species have recently gone extinct. As such, ...

A new colony of endangered freshwater pearl mussels has been discovered in north Highland. The rare species was uncovered during a watercourse survey being carried out before culvert replacement work.