During its female stage, the mature Pinctada lays eggs all year. Developing larva then become prey for all sea creatures that eat plankton, including the living coral of the reefs. But they continue to be targets of many predators, including giant rays, octopus, crabs, starfish and trigger-fish. So the fragile Pinctada requires constant care from the farmers of the lagoons, who must take enormous financial risks to cultivate them for pearl production. The atolls of the sprawling Tuamotu Archipelago are coral crowns growing on the summits of volcanoes that became dormant millions of years ago.
Coral is a living structure that regenerates as erosion reduces it to dust.
Ecological miracles, the atolls draw their nutritive substances from the cold waters, which are rich in mineral salts lying at great depths, while the coral crown grows and spreads out through photosynthesis under a tropical sun. This is where pearl oysters find a favorable environment for their development. The process of raising a pearl oyster is a long one and requires considerable care and attention because the species is fragile. French Polynesia's pearl farmers constantly watch over the black-lipped oyster, much like a father lovingly protects his growing son. Should the weather look stormy, the pearl farmer immerses the oysters more deeply in the lagoon.