No. 5 (1922) PEARL AND CHANK FISHERIES 115 



Since the 1919-20 season, owing to unfavourable markets and 

 weather and to transient labour shortage, the profits have been 

 less, viz. — 



RS. 



1920-21 3 6 >S36 



1921-22 ... ... ... ... 8,266 



A drastic scheme of retrenchment and reorganization is now being 

 put into operation and already has been successful in overcoming 

 the exceptional difficulties that beset this work during the past 

 two years. 



The chank fisheries of Madras are worked off the coasts of 

 the six southern maritime districts on the east coast. The most 

 important are those of Tinnevelly and Ramnad. The former 

 yields from l l / 2 to 2 lakhs of shells per annum, the latter, leased 

 for fifteen years for the sum of Rs. 60,000 from the Raja of Ramnad, 

 usually gives from 2 to 2% lakhs. The smaller fisheries of 

 Tanjore, South Arcot, Chingleput and Nellore are leased by 

 Government to contractors, who make their own arrangements 

 with the fishermen, subject to certain rules. The two fisheries 

 carried on departmentally are now as fully organized as present 

 conditions permit. Their produce is sold in advance by tender 

 on terms generally extending over three seasons. Fisheries 

 Bulletin No. 7 is devoted to a monograph of the chank. A detailed 

 account of the methods adopted to fish the shells is given ; the 

 exceedingly ancient and wonderfully interesting industry of chank 

 bangle manufacture is also described and illustrated very fully, 

 while the ethnological importance of the wealth of curious folklore 

 centring round this sacred shell receives adequate attention. 



The Pearl Fishery off the Tinnevelly coast, which is intimately 

 associated with the chank fishery, bulked largely in importance in 

 ancient days. From causes still obscure but probably connected 

 with changes in the contour line of the coast, the pearl banks have 

 been seldom productive in recent years. In common with the 

 Ceylon Pearl Fisheries, no fishery has taken place since 1908, 

 except a small one at Tondi in Palk Bay in 1914. Historical 

 evidence shows that there have been similar long barren intervals 

 in the past, punctuated by an occasional fishery, hence we 

 inspect the banks periodically in order that when the pearl oysters 

 do re-appear, they may be properly watched and fished at the 

 right time. The result of the long continued observations of the 

 1 -a 



