The Opal Of The Sea

Paua are similar to the Abalone, but they are only in the cold waters of the South Pacific in New Zealand. They have developed very thick shells that have a stunning rainbow of bright iridescent blue, green, yellow and red colors. No two shells are ever alike, so there is a wide variety in color and pattern between Paua even from the same location.

P aua have become a giant industry in New Zealand. And not just for the amazing jewelry that is made from the paua shell but also for the delicious delicacy of the paua meat. Most of the Paua meat is canned for the Asian market, and some is frozen and sent to Singapore and Hong Kong. It is often served raw and served sushi style.

In order to maintain the paua population of New Zealand, they have begun to culture pauas in an aquaculture setting, A man-made method of culturing the paua in a temperature-controlled tank.

These shells have not had anything done to them except the muscle and meat have been removed. No polishing done. This is the Natural Beauty of this shell.

Pauas can eat up to half their body weight each week. They are surprisingly athletic, if you happen to turn a paua over, it can quickly flip back over. Cultured Pauas are easy to manage because they are docile and well behaved.

Paua are gathered recreationally and commercially but strict catch limits are set for both. For recreational fishers this is ten paua per person, per day.

I n addition to being a source of shell jewelry and food, pauas can also produce lustrous pearls. Although it is more rare to find a pearl in a paua that lives in the ocean it is easy to seed and culture pearls in paua that live in captivity.

T he main component of the paua shell is calcium carbonate. This is the same material that a stick of chalk is made of, but the paua shell is about 30 times stronger. The paua draws calcium carbonate from seawater. This makes the shell not only extremely hard but also colorful and lustrous.

S o I hope you can see what a wonderful creation we have here. A true Cinderella story

The shell the paua is oval, and the exterior is often covered with grayish, not so pretty, incrustations. In contrast, the interior layer of shell of a Paua is an iridescent swirl of intense green, blue, purple, and sometimes pink colors, turning it into the true princess.

It is one of nature's best examples of perfection.