340 BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES. 
Naturally a coast like that of Peru does not offer a favorable environment 
for many kinds of the better shellfishes. The scallop”, “‘“concha abanico,”’ 
“senorita” or ‘‘conchita,”’ as it is variously called, is, however, very abundant 
in many places and often attains a large size. It ranks next to the freshwater 
shrimp, the ‘‘cameron de rio.’’ Mussels, beach clams, the spiny lobster,“ and 
various crabs are found in the market, but quite irregularly. The small region 
about the port of Tumbes in the extreme north is as unique for the coast of Peru 
in its fishery resources as in its physical features. From the mouth of the Tumbes 
River to Capon, near the Ecuador line, there is a network of salt and brackish 
estuaries in which thrive a variety of crabs, clams, and mussels. But the chief 
resource of the region is the abundant oyster,’ which grows attached to the roots 
and branches of the mangrove trees margining the salt creeks (fig. 3, pl. x1m). 
The fishery for oysters is very restricted at present, but there is undoubtedly 
a fair opportunity for its development. 
An allusion should be made to the pearl fishery which, in 1900, was exploited 
in the region from the Bay of Sechura to Paita. It appears that at the start 
the fishery was a success, but after a very brief period ceased to yield, and subse- 
quent efforts failed entirely to locate any banks of pearl oysters. It is possible 
that the discovery of these beds awaits only the prosecution of a systematic 
investigation with deep drags or by diving. The ‘pearl oyster’’, or ‘“concha 
perla”’ of the region is Pteria peruviana Reeve, the shells of which may not infre- 
quently be found upon the beaches. 
Perhaps in no other country is fish food more generally esteemed and used 
when available. So we find that not only the usual edible fishes and larger crus- 
tacea and mollusks, such as have been mentioned, but a wide variety of smaller 
and less generally esteemed forms are sought and prepared for the trade. In 
some parts of Peru there is hardly an available shore form that is not taken to 
be used as food. As articles of diet, we should include some species of sea 
weeds, the Hippa, hermit crabs and barnacles; the conchs, large and small; 
the crepidulas, patellids, fissurellids and chitons; the excellent sea-urchin and 
the sea-cucumber; the sea-anemone and ascidians—or almost everything of 
suitable size except annelids and jellyfishes. 
Along the entire coast a considerable element of the population finds its 
support in taking fish for personal use and for the trade. In the larger ports the 
greater part of the product is eaten in fresh condition, but at other places where 
the fish must be conveyed a greater distance to port, or distributed over a wider 
territory on land, the fishermen salt or dry their catch by methods adapted to 
their means and knowledge. 
a@Scallop, Pecten purpuratus Lamarck; spiny lobster, Panulirus ornatus (Fabricius); oyster, Ostrea 
chilensis Philippi and O. columbiensis Hanley. 
