THE PEARL FISHERIES OF CEYLON. 229 



THE PEAEL FISHERIES OF CEYLON.* 



By Professor W. A. HERDMAN, B.Sc, F.R.S., 



UNIVERSITY COLLEGE, LIVERPOOL. 



nr^HE celebrated pearl 'oysters' of Ceylon are found mainly in certain 

 -*- parts of the wide shallow plateau which occupies the upper end 

 of the Gulf of Manaar, off the northwest coast of the island and south 

 of Adam's Bridge. 



The animal (Margaritifera vulgaris, Schum. = Avicula fucata, 

 Gould) is not a true oyster, but belongs to the family Aviculidae, and is, 

 therefore, more nearly related to the mussels (Mytilus) than to the 

 oysters {Ostrcea) of our seas. 



The fisheries are of very great antiquity. They are referred to by 

 various classical authors, and Pliny speaks of the pearls from Taprobane 

 (Ceylon) as 'by far the best in the world.' Cleopatra is said to have 

 obtained pearls from Aripu, a small village on the Gulf of Manaar, 

 which is still the center of the pearl industry. Coming to more recent 

 times, but still some centuries back, we have records of fisheries under 

 the Singhalese kings of Kandy, and subsequently under the successive 

 European rulers — the Portuguese being in possession from about 1505 

 to about 1655, the Dutch from that time to about 1795, and the English 

 from the end of the eighteenth century onwards. A notable feature of 

 these fisheries under all administrations has been their uncertainty. 



The Dutch records show that there were no fisheries between 1732 

 and 1746, and again between 1768 and 1796. During our own time 

 the supply failed in 1820 to 1828, in 1837 to 1854, in 1864 and several 

 succeeding years, and finally after five successful fisheries in 1887, 1888, 

 1889, 1890 and 1891 there has been no return for the last decade. 

 Many reasons, some fanciful, others with more or less basis of truth, 

 have been given from time to time for these recurring failures of the 

 fishery; and several investigations, such as that of Dr. Kelaart (who 

 unfortunately died before his work was completed) in 1857 to 1859, 

 and that of Mr. Holdsworth in 1865 to 1869, have been undertaken 

 without much practical result so far. 



In September, 1901, Mr. Chamberlain asked me to examine the rec- 

 ords and report to him on the matter, and in the following spring I 

 was invited by the government to go to Ceylon with a scientific 

 assistant, and undertake any investigation into the condition of the 



* Abstract of discourse before the Royal Institution of Great Britain. 



