toward the end of the nineteenth oenttiry, v;hen 300 'boats with 5 to 6 men in each, were 

 operating from the hases at Juan Griego, Porlamar, Cumana, and Canipano. Oysters v;ere 

 gathered hy skin divers and hy dredges which the fishermen preferred to scaphanders. They 

 ■believed that hy dredging the oysters were spread over the 'bottom and the area of pearl 

 ■bank v;as thus enlarged, v;hile scaphander diving was destructive. 



In 1S99 there v;ere seven pearl huyers operating at Porlamar. Pearls were ex- 

 loorted tirimarily to Paris. The value of the catch v/as about tv/o million French frpncs. 



In 1900, exclusive rights for pearl fishing around Margarita pjid adjacent islands 

 were granted for 2^ years to Sebastian Cipriani (Gaceta Oficial, July 30, I9OO, No. 7990 

 Ministerio de Tomento). The monopoly, which included also sponges and other Tjroducts, ex- 

 clusive of fish, gave permission to the contractor to use underwater gear. Local fishermen 

 were guarenteed the right to use their ovm methods of fishing. Contractor had to pay 10 

 percent net of the proceeds of fishery hut was free of other tax. 



The state of pearl fishery in more recent years ma^j' he judged from the official 

 statistical data (Ta.hle 1) which I was able to obtain from the office of the SecciiJn de 

 Peaoueria, Ministerio de Agricultura y Cria, and from official publications available in 

 the Librer;.' of Congress in Washington and the Pan American Union. 



Table 1 Production of Pearl Oysters in Venezuela 



from 1919 to 1947 



1/ According to Lopez (I9IK)) total yield of pearls during the ig-year period from 

 1921 to I9I40 v/as 7,069,630 carats, valued at 18,386,377 bolivars. 



