METHODS OF FISHING
With
the dress, a diver can work comfortably at one hundred to a hundred and
twenty-five feet, but men who know the fisheries doubt if that can be
exceeded. Nor does it seem needful to go deeper, for in seas which have
been explored at greater depths it is usually found that the bottom
consists of ooze unsuitable for the life and growth of the oyster.
Beyond
those inherent to the art of diving, either method has its peculiar
difficulties after bottom is reached. In naked diving, especially at
the shoals of Ceylon and Venezuela, where the shells are small and
abundant, it is simply a question of gathering as many as possible
while the breath lasts and looking out for the dangerous fishes
indigenous to tropical waters.
Sharks
are common in many of the pearl-oyster seas, but experienced divers do
not fear them greatly, as the fish, formidable as it may appear, and
dangerous as it is when it can come upon one unawares, is easily
frightened. Many expert swimmers of the Indian and Pacific oceans do
not hesitate to attack them in their own element. Usually vigorous
splashing will frighten them away. The dress-divers of
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