The Status of silverlip pearl oyster Pinctada maxima (Jameson) (Mollusca, Pteridae) in the Solomon Islands after a 15-year export ban

In the Solomon Islands, there have been three periods of commercial exploitation of the silver (gold)-lip pearl oyster Pinctada maxima. The most recent ended in 1993, when export of all species of pearl oysters was banned to allow stocks to recover from overexploitation. To help to fill this information gap, a survey of eight former P. maxima fishing grounds in the Solomon Islands was carried out in 2007. This article presents information on the abundance and size structure based on underwater visual censuses undertaken by teams of hookah divers in April to October 2007.