(Ducat v?as a gold or silver coin. Its valiie greatly varied in different countries. We .-nay 

 assime that it was uorth 11 Spanish Pesetas or about 2.75 ^' S. A. dollars.) Many val-uaTsle 

 pearls iDrouglit to Surope undou'btedly escaped the eyes of the Spanish kind's custom officers, 

 and were not recorded. 



There is no doubt that, v;ith the marked decline of the pearl fishery along the 

 Atlantic coast in the latter part of the l6th century, pearl grounds of the Pacific coast 

 of Panama were ezcploited v/ith greater intensity. Of particular interest in this respect 

 are the records of the Cardona Company, v;hich conducted its operations almost exclusively 

 on the West Coast, although its pearl fishery license, granted in l6l2, applied as well to 

 the Pearl Coast of the Atlantic. The compaxiy was organised on a very large scale. Its six 

 well-outfitted vessels sailed from Cadiz in July I613, and visited the Carihljean Islands, 

 apt)arently for the uurpose of acq.ulrlng negroest for the royal decree of June 25, I585 had 

 forhidden the use of Indians in pearl fishing, and specified that only negroes were to "he 

 employed for diving (Recoplicacion de Leyes de los regnos de las Indias. Madrid, 177^i 

 hook k, title 25, law 31> quoted from Mosk, 193^) • Ir. 161U, the expedition of the company 

 crossed the land of ITew Spain and established its headquarters at Acapulco, where it 

 imr:ediately hegan the construction of three vessels. The ships, of about 200 tons capacity, 

 v/ere ready by January I615 and began their explorations. The method of locating pearl 

 oyster grounds ("placeres") v;as unique. The Spaniards scanned the beaches in an attempt to 

 locate shell mounds which resulted from the consumption of pearl oysters and throv/ing the 

 shell on the beach. In the v;ords of the Cordona's report (quoted from Mosk, 193'+)' "along 

 the sea coast, on the interior (Gulf) side, for a distance of one hundred leagues, one does 

 not see anything but mounds of pearl shell." The description refers to the Gulf of 

 California, but undoubtedly the sane method of finding pearl grounds vfas used by the Span- 

 iards throu^out the range of their esylorations. 



Intensive fishing resulted in a rapid decline in the yield of pearls. It is 

 interesting to note that the earlier explorers had some understanding of the principles of 

 conservation. Por instance, one report of the Cordona Cora-oany stated that their expedition 

 of 1613 to Margarita Island (Venezuela) was fruitless because the grounds were full of snail 

 oysters. To have taJ^en them out, according to the report, vrould have been a detriment to 

 the interests of the pearl fishery and of the royal treasury (Mosk, 193^+) • 



General falling of prices of pearls in Europe in the 17th century was probably the 

 main reason for the decline of pearl fishing. This v/as beneficial to the pearl oyster re- 

 sources, for during the period of relative inactivity the grounds depleted by previous 

 intensive exploitation had a chance to recover. 



We have no data regarding the yield of the fishery in the Igth and 19th centuries. 

 Segular statistical data which are being collected by the Panamanian Government are available 

 only since 1907« At the beginning of the present century, the pearl fishery along the 

 Pacific coast of Panama was well developed} it provided steady livelihood to a number of 

 communities scattered on the islands of the Archlpielago de las Perlas and in the Gulf of 

 Chirio_ui, especially around Colba and other islands. The main product of the fishery d-uring 

 the last 50 years has been the mother-of-pearl shell. With the decreasing number of pearl 

 oysters on the grounds, the chances of finding a valuable pearl became so remote that the 

 Panamanian pearls lost their importance in the economic life of the country, although the 

 hope of becoming rich overnight still persists and lures the inhabitants of the Pearl Islands 

 and incidental visitors to the P.earl Archlpielago to try their l\K:k. Many oysters are being 

 ta^^en in this mostly vain hope, and their shells discarded. Because of this situation, the 

 number of oysters recorded in official statistics must be considerably smaller than the 

 actual number taken from the sea. 



Present statistical .data are based on records of export of mother-of-pearl shells 

 from Panama City and Colon. Unfortunately, records of landings of mother-of-pearl shells 

 are not alwajrs available. In view of the fact that there are no large warehouses in Panama 

 or in Colon for the storage of shells, it is reasonable to assume that the greatest part of 

 the annual catch of shells was einorted. 



