39 
with the pearl banks was subsequently still more expressly 
_ defined by law. 
As mentioned above Ceylon chanks fall into two 
categories, live or ‘‘green” chanks and dead or sub- 
fossil ones. The former are fished by divers in the sea 
around the northern part of Ceylon, from Dutch Bay on 
the west, northwards past Mannar and the Jaffna islands 
round to Mullaittivu onthe north-east coast. The depths 
of water and the method of fishing are very much the 
same as prevail in the Tuticorin fishery modified in 
many places by the fact that the beds there lie in shallow 
water so enabling the divers to dispense with the diving 
stone and rope. To fish such shallow beds, parties of 
divers go out in their canoes or ballams to the selected 
ground. There they leave the canoes and swim about 
diving from time to time whenever they think they can 
get a chank. The shells taken they place in a bag 
suspended from their loins; this goes on until the bag 
is full or they feel tired, when they return to the canoe, 
empty their catch into a basket and rest awhile. Much 
of the diving is done in three to five fathoms. The men 
are principally Labbais (Muhammadans) from Kilakarai, 
reinforced in recent years by a number of Arab divers 
who, after attending certain of the Pearl Fisheries, settled 
on the coast near Jaffna, married Tamil women and took 
to fishing chanks and béche-de-mer while waiting for 
the next pearl fishery. 
The best and largest shells are reputed to be fished 
on rocky bottom off the island of Nayinativu, very good 
quality being also characteristic of those fished off Pun- 
kudutivu and Mannar Island and on the north-east coast 
towards Mullaitivu and Trincomali where the bottom is 
mingled sand and rock; the poorest quality comes from 
shallow water with grassy bottom, as for example off 
Kalmunai and Nachchikarai, 
The scale of rates paid to divers for shells from these 
different localities as supplied to me by an Arab diver 
who has worked over the whole coast, is as follows :— 
RS. 
Nayinativu... Je ava sh) oJ PEE LOO 
Punkudutivu is ae sas 
Trincomali and bab Bae fe Seer TOO 
M ullaittivu aa oie = | 
North side Mannar island ... aE peL oo 
Kalmunai and Nachchikarai... 2—-8—o per I00 
