But since 1994, something has been killing off the akoyas of Ago Bay, the heart of Japan's cultured-pearl ... with the idea that pollution is to blame. For one thing, he notes, akoya oysters ...

Two years ago, sculptor Jerelyn Hanrahan had a strand of an idea: to create a community pearl, literally and figuratively, for Oyster Bay. She stood at a work site last week, having nearly reached ...