THE PEARL FISHERY OF 1904. 19 



disposition, but to have largely decreased in area and to be represented by several 

 detached patches thickly covered with 4^- to 5-year-olds on the South-west Cheval, 

 by a large area of more thinly spread oysters of the same age on the north-west 

 section, and by a third of rather smaller extent on the mid-west, the southern end of 

 the last named joining the north-west patch on the south-west section. 



"The south-west patches covered in the aggregate an area of 2,754,021 square 

 yards, with an average of 22 oysters per dive on 1,778,676 square yards and of 21 on 

 the remainder. As each dive is estimated to account for an area of 3 square yards, I 

 estimated the total number of oysters on this section to be 19,500,000, sufficient to 

 give daily loads of 10,000 oysters per boat to a fishing fleet numbering 100 boats for 

 a period of 19| days, each boat being presumed to have a complement of 10 divers. 



' The oysters on the north-west section amounted to 9,000,000, covering an area of 

 1,685,460 square yards, a number based upon an average of 20 oysters per dive on 

 716,100 square yards and 13 per dive on 969,360 square yards. Although apparently 

 sufficient to give fishing for 100 boats for 9 days at an average load per boat of 

 10,000 oysters, the result of the fishery showed that the number of oysters per dive 

 on certain portions of this bed was too low to give profitable results, with the 

 consequence that the fleet had to be moved off after only five days' fishing and the 

 removal of a little over 4,000,000 oysters rather less than half of those present. 



" The bed on the mid-west had an area of 992,250 square yards, whereon I 

 estimated there were 6,500,000 oysters, being at the rate of 20 per dive. These 

 oysters were smaller for their age than those of the south-west and most of those on 

 the north-west sections. 



" The total number of fishable oysters on the three sections of the Western Cheval 

 I estimated at 35,000,000, equal to 35 days' fishing for 100 boats. By far the most 

 important of the beds found in respect of numbers as well as condition were the 

 patches on the south-west section, for here not only were the oysters splendidly 

 grown for their age, but they were absolutely free from mixture with young. Every- 

 where else there was more or less admixture of young of 2 to 2^ years of age, 

 especially upon the eastern margin of the ground where they adjoined the beds of the 

 immature generation. 



" Over those parts of the South, South-east, and South-central Cheval, and North 

 Modragam occupied by oysters, the older oysters, while nearly universally present, 

 were in a very small minority, averaging not more than 1 to 6 of those 2^ or 2 years 

 old. Here and there on the northern edge of the South-east Cheval were small 

 patches of little mixed 4- to 4f-year-old oysters, the remnants of the bed fished 

 last year. 



" As was to be expected, the Periya Paar Kerrai, ravaged by ray-fish (Trygonidas) 

 in March, 1903, gave no results, and but a few oysters of no fishery value were 

 found on the Kondatchi Paar, ground that is utterly bad for oyster growth under 

 present circumstances {infra). 



D 2 



