File 2830/1914 Pt 2 'Persian Gulf: Pearl Fisheries. Investigation into Alleged Depletion of Pearl Banks. Germans and the Industry. Concessions, etc.' [‎252v] (517/578)

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According to their statements, Pe -1 oysters li™ from B-en^eight years; tom ptol when
about four years old ; are rich m pearl borne out by some information gleaned by Captain
year. Now, the above communicated to me in 1874.
Tine, a full copy of his letter and memorandum.* The followmg rs an extract from h«
memorandum :—
Fishorv of 1855 : age of oyster 4 years and 4 months,
fishery or iooo. y doubtful, probably 4 years.
1858 ! do do - 5 y ears ‘
1859 on Cheval : do. 6 years.
1859 on Modragam : do. 4 years.
1860 do. 4 and 5 years.
uo. 1863 do. under 5 years.
i n , ,, 0 t}int ovsters may be profitably fished at the age o± four years, and that they are
in theh p W rime aTC X, and may be kepi tm tha{age if circumstances will permit of it ; but if they are kept till
the sixth year, they are almost certain to be found dead. ,
AS regards the ^hery of 1855, the™ is so- -as to t
h^rng e b":ivld fy nue ^"ys ceaTedto hold expectations of a dshery till the oysters
were two or ‘^XTshe^of 1857, there was a howl throughout the fishery that the oysters were
. ■ n l / vnuna and certainly they were to all appearances too young. In 1858 they were
fnThei? prime at five years of age, and in 1859 they were dying out at six. The oysters were all of
one brood , figlied in l860 , about five years old, were very rich in Pearls.
Mr Vane hi his diary of inspection of March, 1861, expresses his opinion that the Modragam
oysters fishedTn 1860 ought to have been kept another year, and thinks Captain Pritchard did wrong
in fishino - them i I believe, on the contrary, that Captain Pritchard did right m fishing them. The
m hsnmg tnem.j x " ’ , e ricb in pe a r i 0 f fine quality ; some of the lots sold for
over rI 200 t“‘thousand! and the total amount realized was Rs. 350,000. This would very probably
have been lost if the oysters had been kept for another year.
Varieties of Oysters in Kotu Fishery, 1888.
It must be borne in mind that pearl oysters vary very considerably in shape, colour, and size,
and that certain banks and sections of banks have oysters peculiar to them.§ Certain banks, too as
for instance the Cheval, the Modragam, the Peria Paar, and the Muttuvarattu Paars (as recently
proved) have conditions in depth of water, and the nature of ground and its surroundings, which are
more favourable to the pearl oyster and to the formation of pearls than other banks with less water
on them and closer to the shore.
Cheval and Modragam Oysters considered finest.
The oysters of the Cheval and Modragam banks have always been considered the finest and
richest in pearl, the oysters of the Modragam being even more esteemed than those of the Cheval.
The small thick oysters of the Peria Paar are also much esteemed as being rich in pearls of hne
1 On the contrary, the flat oysters found on the Nadukkuda Paar and washed up on the south
coast of Mannar, and those of the Mandativu bank near Jaffna in shallow water, are almost worthless.
The extraordinary fishery of 1888, when the oysters of the Cheval and Modragam banks seemed
to be all mixed up, afforded an exceptional opportunity for seeing the variety of oysters on the banks.
On March 22, 1888, I visited the kottn and recorded what I had seen.||
Important Matters to be considered before deciding on a Fishery.
There are, however, other important matters to be considered besides the age of the oyster
before a fishery can be decided on :—
(1) Are the oysters plentiful on one bank, or on more than one bank, and more than can
possibly he fished in one year, as in 1857 and again in 1880 ? or
(2) Are the oysters thick on a comparatively small compact patch, heal thy-looking, ana
likely to improve in condition if allowed to remain another year, without risk . or
(3) Are they scattered over a large area in small patches and likely to be carried away
by current or otherwise destroyed ? or
(4) Are the oysters plentiful on a bank, but comparatively young and immature, but likely
to yield a return, even though small, if fished at once, with every probability ot
their being carried away by current if left for another year, as in the case of the
Muttuvarattu Paar in 1889 ; or dying off, as was the case with regard to oysters on
the Cheval and Modragam in 1887.11
In all such cases much must be left to the discretion and judgment of the Superintendent and
Inspector.
Take, for instance, the fisheries of 1857, 1858, and 1859. The Cheval and part of Modragam
banks were covered thick with the same brood. It would have been impossible to have fished
all the oysters in one year, and if left till they all reached maturity there was the risk of then
dying out.
Mr. Vane very wisely decided to fish a part of the Cheval in 1857, although the oysters were
young. There was a general howl (backed up unfortunately by the Naturalist, who aired his opinions
all over Silavatturai) against Mr. Vane and Captain Higgs, to the effect that the bank was too young
to be fished.
* See Appendix 2, A.
t See Appendix 6, F.
% See Appendix 4, A.
§ See Appendices 7, C and 8, I.
|| See Appendix 7, 0.
*|f See Appendices 7, A 1, A 2, and A o.