Do pearl oysters have to be killed to get the pearl?

Question

Do pearl oysters have to be killed to get the pearl?

Answer 1

step 1 open oyster. step 2 check for pearl. step 3 bring to restuaruant ask for them to cook it for you and bam! delicous meal and possible pearl.

Answer 2

no, but for expediency sake and economics they are.

in farm operations they have a tool that removes the pearl and reseeds them for growth of the next one.

Answer 3

Since they need to be opened to check, they will be killed. And then eaten ... delicious  

Answer 4

Many hundreds of pearl oysters or pearl mussels have to be gathered and opened, and thus killed, in order to find even one pearl, and for many centuries that was the only way pearls were obtained