Moluccas, Indonesia | Maluku's Aru Island

Eastern Indonesia's Moluccas archipelago (aka Maluku or Moluccan Islands) is one of the main pearl farming ares of the South Seas. The islands are situated east of Sulawesi (aka Celebes), and west of Papua New Guinea.

Pearl farming on the Maluku Aru island began in the early 1920s. The satellite image below is of the inlet between Maikoor and Kobroor on the western side of the Aru island group, across from the Kei islands. Pearl culturing by several multi-national pearl companies has been re-established on Aru island in recent years, and Aru oysters are being bred at Irian Jaya's Alyui Bay by Atlas Pacific.