NO. 51.— 1900.] PEARL FISHERIES. 



175 



the industry has been revived — chiefly owing to the intro- 

 duction of modern diving apparatus, which has proved 

 of great utility. 



Mr. Townsend, of the U.S.A. Fish Commission, says : " It 

 is not unlikely that the adoption of the submarine engineer's 

 suit by the pearl fishers of La Paz must have been the step 

 which led to the continuance of the pearl fishing industry, 

 for the search for shells can now be pursued into deeper 

 waters than in the days of the naked divers, the best of 

 whom could not descend a dozen fathoms. Half that is rather 

 more than a practical working depth." And again, in 

 the same report, Mr. Townsend says : " Whatever of 

 romance has hitherto enshrouded the naked diver for pearls in 

 the sea, he is now practically a submarine labourer who uses 

 all the modern diving paraphernalia available. No longer 

 plunging for sixty seconds into the sunlit green water that 

 covers a coral bank, he puts on a rubber suit with glass-fronted 

 helmet, and, suitably weighted with lead, descends for hours 

 to gather pearl oysters, which are hoisted in a wire basket by 

 his companions in the boat above, who also supply him 

 through a rubber tube with the air he breathes."* 



M. fimbriata is ^the pearl oyster of this region, but M. 

 margaritifera is also fished here as elsewhere in the Pacific. 

 Here again, mother-of-pearl shell is the principal object 

 of the search, its value being sufficient to pay the expense 

 of the fishing, leaving any pearls which may be obtained 

 a clear gain. In America also, as in Australia, the banks are 

 rented out for fixed periods to different pearling traders. 



In the Pacific the oysters are usually opened with a knife. 

 This, if properly performed, is said to be the best plan, for 

 pearls are considered liable to become discoloured if the 

 animal is allowed to decompose before the shell is opened. 



The Pearl Fisheries of the Gulf of Mannar, 

 The principal fishery in this region is that conducted on 

 the eastern side of the Gulf, in the neighbourhood of Aripo, 



* Bulletin, U.S. Fish Commission., vol. IX., 1889, pp. 91-94, 



