U.S. mussels have become the target of poachers because of their value in the international production of cultured pearls. Most of these pearls have centers made from U.S. mussels. The mussel shells are ground, shaped into beads and inserted into live oysters, which then coat the beads with minerals, resulting in pearls. States regulate the legal harvest of all freshwater mussel species, often closing waterways to harvest. Shells from state-regulated rivers in the South and Midwest are in the most demand by the pearl industry because they are larger and thicker than other mussel shells and produce larger, more valuable pearls.
Poachers violate state harvest regulations in order to collect the larger, more profitable shells.
The legal shell industry in this country employs about 10,000 people, mainly along the Mississippi River and its tributaries. In July 1998 the Tennessee Shell Company pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Lacey Act for buying and exporting thousands of pounds of freshwater mussels illegally taken from rivers in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and West Virginia. Thanks to the forward-looking legal settlement in this case, the Service and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation are using the restitution monies to support mussel conservation efforts. The Foundation created the Freshwater Mussel Conservation Fund to use the restitution monies, which will be paid over a four-year period, to support research and other efforts to preserve the Nation's freshwater mussel populations. By maximizing partnerships and leveraging funds, we can do a lot more for America's freshwater mussels and the rivers where they live.