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PEARL FISHERIES
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variety
of oyster commonly called shoulder of mutton, and another shell-fish
called jamboneau (pinna) of which the pearl is very fine, are also
found in these waters.
A
syndicate was formed in Paris to exploit these beds and obtained
concessions covering one hundred and thirty miles. Owing to the
difficulty of getting divers, the waters had not been exploited to any
great depth up to 1898, the regular fishings being confined to the
shalÂlows of six to seven feet, though larger shells were known to be
in deeper water. More systematic work with modern appliances and in
deeper waters has since been done with good success, but late reports
show an accumulation of shell and indications that the industry has not
been profitable.
In
1904 the price of shell (black-edge mother-of-pearl) fell to $250, U.
S. gold per ton of 2240 pounds,-from $700, the former price, with six
hundred tons stored in London, Paris, Berlin, New York and San
Francisco, making a prosÂpective loss of $270,000 for 1904. There was
an attempt to limit the production by a return to native diving. With
dress the output would be
235
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