Pearl Fisheries.

Pelorus Guardian and Miners' Advocate., Volume 6, Issue 48, 18 June 1895, Page 3

Pearl Fisheries.

To New Zealanders it may be interesting to know a little of the way in which “ pearl shelling ” is carried on in Torres’ Straits, especially as there are a number of Auckland-built boats, and also natives of that engaged in the industry. The ancient, but now almost absolute way of winning the pearl oyster, was by employing natives to dive from a boat, in water ranging from ttvo to seven fathoms, close to the numerous reefs; but the loss of life was immense, not only through sharks and alligators, but from the pressure of the waters, which causes collapse and death. At the present day the business is carried on by properly equipped divers, who work in as much as thirty fathoms of water occasionally. Some of the companies have as many as twenty luggers at work all the year round. Operations are carried on from a floating station, generally a schooner of about 140 tons; the luggers range from eight to twenty tons; and, besides the diver, they carry a tender, and four, sometimes five, of a crew. The tender’s duty is to dress the diver, and attend the life-line whilst he is on the bottom, the crew working the boat and air pump. Every day collecting boats are sent to the luggers for the shell, which is taken on board the schooner, opened, weighed, and packed ready for shipment to London. The opening of the oyster and search for pearls is done by those in charge, and some very fine stones are occasionally found, but they are few and far between. A good pearl of, say eighty or ninety grains, is worth from four to five hundred pounds. The men in the boats, who are of all nationalities, Malays and Manila men predominating, are up to all sorts of trickery, and, notwithstanding all precautions that can be taken, manage to rob the owners right and left. Their principal method is to put the shellfish in the sun, and as it opens insert a cork, which prevents it closing, and then if there is a pearl in the fish they take it and remove the cork, and nobody is the wiser. At the present time the price of pearl shell is so low that the industry is barely paying expenses, and the small owners are finding it a bard struggle to keep above water. One who has made a success of it is Billy Maori, a very old diver in the Straits, who is a native of Kaipara, I believe. He is the owner of a little fleet, and judging by his appearance, ia prosperous and happy.