Hong Kong’s Pearl Oyster Industry to Shine Again
Professor Billy Chow
Dr. Yan Wa-tat
Pearl oysters have been harvested in Hong Kong for hundreds of years, with word of their quality reaching the highest levels in Peking. They were in such demand that an ancient script from 1295 states that troops were stationed in Tai Po to collect and protect them.
To ensure they reached Guangzhou, the capital city of Nam Han (Southern Han) during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, the pearls collected in Tai Po were shipped along the Pearl River, which is believed to be why it is called the Pearl River. But it was not only pearls that were prized; it was the medicinal properties they contained that made them precious.
Now, a team from the School of Biological Science at the University of Hong Kong is working to restore the industry by scientifically proving that the crushed nacre, or mother of pearl, part of the shells, can benefit health and wellness.
Under the guidance of Professor Billy Chow, Associate Director (Molecular & Cell Biology) at the school, the team has three patents and IP rights based on experiments conducted at HKU. It has set up a company to produce and sell the shell powder.
“Leveraging on the three patents, we set up a startup company, Pearl Power Research Institute,” Prof. Chow said. “We hope to use our technology to develop locally produced pearl powder for the benefit of people in Hong Kong and mainland China.”
The institute is a startup between Prof. Chow and co-founder Dr Yan Wa-tat, a graduate student from the school whose research in pearl oyster farming in Hong Kong catalysed the research and ongoing trial of oyster farming at unused fish rafts.
"In the ancient Chinese text, the pearl powder has detoxification and antioxidant properties,” Dr. Yan said. “We want to use scientific methods to prove the ancient texts, and from the results of our experiments, we found that the ancient claims are significant.”
The team has proved that powder from the crushed nacre layer of the shells contains essential materials, proteins, and minerals like calcium carbonate and amino acids that can be used in Chinese medicine.
Based on these findings, they have created new formulations of pearl shell powder together with other ingredients that will be packaged into pills and launched as three different product lines in detoxification, antioxidants and gut health.
As part of a broader approach to revive the local pearl oyster industry, Prof. Chow and Dr. Yan have been working closely with professional fishing associations and the government to retrain fishermen and use some unused fishing rafts.