10 



are told that the beds produced 100,000 dozen oysters annually. As is seen by 

 the table the total produce from 1896 to 1908 from the whole of the beds on 

 the Sincl Coast amounts to 106,538 dozen only, i. e. y the yield for 12 years barely 

 exceeds the reputed produce of a single year in the days of greatest prosperity. 

 The disparity is so immense that 1 am greatly inclined to believe the estimation 

 named has been considerably exaggerated. However, even if we reduce it by 

 50 percent., and make it 50,UOO do/en per annum, this is immensely ahead of any 

 figures reached since 1896 ; it is considerably greater even than the total 

 imports into Karachi for 1899-1900, inclusive of 17,000 dozen brought down from 

 Kutch. In making reference to Kutch, it is noteworthy that the highest 

 imports from that state were 21,600 dozen in 1902-03. This trade prior to 

 1896 was quite small. In 1896-97 it amounted to 3,000 dozen only ; between 

 1899-1903 it attained its maximum ranging between 17,000 and 21,600 dozen 

 per annum. During these years the Kutch Durbar levied an export fee of B/s. 15 

 per boat-load, a rate sufficiently low to place no impediment in the way of heavy 

 exports. In 1904 the Kutch authorities had reason to fear that the heavy drain 

 upon their beds might cause a depletion as disastrous as that which had over- 

 taken the Sind beds ; very wisely, in my belief, they sought to reduce the 

 drain by imposing a much higher tariff on exported oysters. From Rs. 15 per 

 boat-load they raised the rate to Us. 50; as a direct consequence the amount 

 exported to Karachi in 1904-05 fell to 6,500 dozen ; in the two succeeding 

 years the export was 7,900 dozen and 8,900 dozen respectively. Even this reduc- 

 tion in export does not appear to have been sufficient to maintain the prosperity 

 of the beds, for it is understood that the Kutch tariff had to be again raised in 

 1907, this time to as much as Rs. 100 per boat-load. At this high rate the 

 Karachi dealers find the trade much less lucrative than formerly, especially as 

 considerable mortality occurs among the cargo on the voyage up the coast. Import 

 from Kutch has therefore been much curtailed, only 4,800 dozen coming into 

 Karachi from this source in 1907-08. 



39. Culture Experiments in Karachi Backwater. In accordance with the 

 recommendation made by Commander Shopland in January 1897, three boat- 

 loads of broken Mangalore tiles to serve as oyster cultch (1) were laid down during 

 September 1898 in the Nawa Nar creek in the vicinity of the Maurypur salt- 

 works in the western section of the Karachi backwater. The work was 

 entrusted to the Preventive Staff of the Customs Department. On 2nd October 

 in the same year, the tiles were found to be covered with sand. Another spot 

 believed to be less exposed to silting was then selected ; one boat-load of tiles 

 was deposited there on 7th October and a second five days later. A year after 

 the Head Preventive Officer reported that the experiment had met the same fate 

 as the first ; in the later one, however, spat attachment had evidently taken place, 

 as the officer reported that some oysters had developed to the size of f inch 

 when they died from the effect of silt deposit. It is greatly to be regretted that 

 no record was made of the date when spat settled upon the tiles and what was 

 the age when the size of f inch was attained. A year later two boat-loads of 

 stones were deposited at Nawa Nar. This third attempt likewise failed to give 

 any tangible result, partly from lack of technical training on the part of the 

 officer entrusted with the work, partly from the depredations of the licensed 

 fishermen, who are reported to have removed what oysters did develop upon the 

 tiles. The Head Preventive Officer reported in 1901 that he had on four occa- 

 sions made collection of tiles with oysters adhering to them and deposited 

 them apart ; in every instance the oysters thus put on one side for further 

 ^observation were removed, owing to some unfortunate misunderstanding whereby 

 the licensed oyster-collectors were permitted to collect from the Nawa Nar bed 

 during the progress of the experiments. In spite of the eventual failure of the 

 experiments, useful information might have been gleaned as to spatting seasons 

 and rate of growth had a detailed programme been furnished to the officer in 

 charge, giving him particulars of what observations were necessary to make from 

 time to time. Had such been done these experiments were sufficiently successful 

 to have furnished much of the data we now stand in need of. In actual fact they 

 were not failures, but there was failure to utilize the information they were 

 ready to furnish to the seeing eye. 



40. Owing to the difficulty experienced in safeguarding the oysters 

 under observation, no further experiments were made on the Nawa Nar beds ; 



d> Cultch is the technical term for any hard material deposited upon oyster banks to improve 

 the bottom and afford increased surface suitable for the attachment of oyster spat. 



