Abstract
The aquaculture of pearl oysters is an expanding multimillion dollar industry in the tropical marine environment of many countries, including Australia, French Polynesia, the Middle East, China, Southeast Asia and Japan. Despite the size and extent of the industry there is remarkably little known about the diseases and parasites of the genus Pinctada. There is a growing awareness among the industry that, as with other molluscs under cultivation, disease can be an important constraint and chat translocation of shellfish poses a serious risk. This paper will review the known diseases caused by pathogenic agents as well as those with a non-infectious aetiology. Management techniques, which can be used to minimize the impact of disease, will also be discussed.