MEMBERS: Paua Pearls revealed

We are excited to announce that Mike Roden will be presenting the 8th GAA webinar.

Very little is documented about Abalone pearl farms. Mike will for the first time share with our GAA community the secrets of farming this exceptional type of blue mabe pearl.

GIA’s Senior Manager of Pearl Identification, Chunhui Zhou has acknowledged that blue pearls are the rarest colour of this type of biogenic gem material.

Join us for a travel bubble to the top of the South Island of New Zealand for a fun, entertaining and engaging member only event.

Why does it matter if these mollusks are hemophiliacs?

COST: FREE (member only event)

BOOKINGS: Limited spaces – advanced registration required. Contact Kathryn Wyatt with any issues: publicity@gem.org.au or phone 0412 195 964.

Who is Mike Roden?

Mike Roden was born in the USA and his love for the practice of diversified farming saw him make the South Island in New Zealand his permanent home and the centre of his farming dream. He has more than 50 years of experience with the Abalone species, as he started his career in Paua shell at 13 years old, when he started diving for them with his family in California, USA.

Today, Mike is one of very few Abalone farmers in the world that has acquired the expertise for farming this very delicate type of mollusk.

As a family business, Mike with his wife Antonia and children, leads the Arapawa company, a vertically integrated jewellery business that shares their passion and knowledge with the world, and welcome visitors to experience their business behind the scenes at the Abalone farm.

Mike and his family are passionately involved in the conservation of the Paua’s natural environment, and support the community based Paua recovery education project. This business is strictly regulated and he is one of the executives of the PAU3 Industry Association Incorporated, the group of fishers that operate in the Kaikōura and Canterbury coasts, known as the PAU3 quota management area.