108 MARINE PRODUCTS OF COMMERCE 



pearls are rare and valuable, but not more so than the fine rose-colored specimens. 

 Pearls generally assume a color similar to that possessed by the lining of the shell. 

 Changes in the temperature of the water, the state of health and age of the 

 organism, and the kind of food ingested are a few of the factors which could be 

 instrumental in bringing about a variation in color during pearl formation. 



The Pearl Fisheries 



Persian Gulf Fishery. The richest oriental pearl fisheries in the world are those 

 of the Persian Gulf. Prior to World War I as many as 600 native teakwood boats, 

 or sailing dhows, each carrying an average of 50 pearl divers and helpers, left the 

 port of Bahrein for the pearl fishing waters off the middle Arabian Coast. In the 

 summer of 1947 only 150 boats were engaged in pearl fishing. No diving para- 

 phernalia of any kind is permitted by British authorities, who have jurisdiction 

 over the area, and the natives use the same pearl fishing methods today as their 

 ancestors did 2,000 years ago. Only 35 per cent of the genuine pearls of the 

 Persian Gulf come from the waters around Bahrein. Kuwait to the north and the 

 Trucial Oman Coast to the south supply the remainder. 



The routine of pearl diving is as follows: Large oars, extending from the side 

 of the dhow, help to steady and propel the craft and furnish a place to which the 

 descending rope can be attached. To this rope is fastened a stone, weighing about 

 50 povmds, on which the diver stands. When he is ready to submerge, he takes a 

 deep breath, clamps a clothespin-like device on his nose, pulls the slip knot which 

 frees the rope, and descends rapidly. He carries with him a small net basket 

 which is also fastened to a rope. As soon as he i caches bottom, he plucks as many 

 pearl oysters as possible. While some divers descend to depths of 60 feet, the 

 usual distance is nearer 30. Total elapsed time under water may be as much as 

 2 minutes; a minute and a half, however, may be taken as average. These men 

 of the Persian Gulf are not physically powerful as are the pearl divers of the 

 South Seas; on the contrary, they are thin and wiry. Age does not appear to be 

 a factor, for men of 70 will be found diving with boys in their teens. 



Ceylon Fishery. The intermittent and uncertain pearl fisheries of Ceylon have 

 ranked second in importance to those of the Persian Gulf. They are carried on in 

 the Gulf of Manaar, a 65 to 150 mile-wide arm of the Indian Ocean, separating 

 the island of Ceylon from the southernmost part of India. The pearl-oyster beds, 

 known locally as "paars", are situated off the northwest coast of Ceylon and also 

 in the neighborhood of Tuticorin, on the Madras Coast of the mainland. These 

 fisheries are almost as ancient as those of the Persian Gulf; they are alluded to 

 in Singhalese records as early as 550 B.C., and Pliny wrote of them. 



As a rule the fishery begins in late February or early March. The important 

 fishery from 1902 to 1907 was centered at the improvised settlement of Marich- 

 chikadde. But few Singhalese participate in comparison with the large numbers 

 who assemble from India, Arabia, and elsewhere. A short time after it has been 

 officially announced that a pearl fishery will take place at Marichchikadde on the 

 Island of Ceylon, a populous town springs up. The fishing fleet consists of several 

 hundred boats of various rigs and sizes, the number of persons on each boat 

 ranges from 12 to 65. The season is short, only some 6 or 8 weeks at the most. 

 The divers work in pairs, each pair sharing a single diving-stone and descending 

 alternately. 



