Attention switched to cultured pearls and pearl farms sprang up, capitalising on the fact that maxima pinctada oysters thrived in the area's sub-tropical waters.
Particular kinds of aquaculture include algaculture (the production of kelp/seaweed and other algae); fish farming; shrimp farming, shellfish farming, and the growing of cultured pearls.
The production of cultured pearls requires the grafting of a pearl nucleus, together with a portion of mantle tissue from a donor into a recipient oyster.