about
10,000. Some days when the weather is unfavorable many of the boats
return empty; on other days they may have 25,000 or more. In 1905 the
maximum catch in one day for one boat was 29,990, while in 1904 a
single boat brought in 37,675 oysters. The catch by the entire fleet
one day in 1905 was 4,978,686 oysters, or an average of 16,485 for each
of the 302 boats out on that occasion.
Each
person taking part in the fishery receives as his compensation a
definite portion of the oysters. By government regulations, published
in 1855 and yet operative, each sammatti, tindal, and todai receives
daily one dive of oysters from each diver in the boat to which they are
respectively attached. In some instances the hire of the boat is paid
for in cash—about Rs.1.50 per day from each diver,—but in most cases
either one fifth or one sixth of each diver's portion is devoted to
this purpose. After these provisions have been made, each diver gives
one third of his remaining portion to his manduck, retaining
the balance for himself. The Moormen divers from Kilakarai commonly
contribute one dive daily to the mosque of their native town,1 in addition to the portions given to the sammatti, tindal, and todai. Previous
to 1855, the Hindu temples of the Madras Presidency were allowed to
operate a certain number of boats on their own account, but this led
to so many abuses that it was abolished.
After the boats are run up on the firm, hard beach, all the oysters are removed by the crews of the boats into the government koddu or
palisade, a large wattle-walled and palm-thatched inclosure with
square pens, each bearing a number corresponding to that of each boat.
This is done under close supervision to prevent a diversion of the
oysters from the regular channels, which otherwise would be relatively
easy among the animation and excitement caused by the thousands of
persons about the landing-place.
Within
the government inclosure, the oysters taken by each boat are divided by
the fishermen themselves into three portions as nearly equal as
possible. This applies not only to the oysters falling to the share of
the divers and manducks, but also to those set apart for the sammatti, tindals, and todais, for
hire of the boat and even for the Kilakarai mosque. An official
indicates one of these as the share of the fishermen, who at once
remove their portion from the inclosure through a narrow gate on the
landward side. By this arrangement a satisfactory division of the
oysters is secured and all cause for complaint or unfairness is
removed. Previous to 1881, the fishermen received only one fourth of
the catch as compensation for their work; but in that year their
portion was increased to one third, at which it has since remained.
1 " Reports on the Pearl Fishery for 1904," Colombo, p. 6.
