ductiveness
of the reefs that many of them gave signs of exhaustion. With a view to
adopting methods for conserving the industry, so essential to the
welfare of the natives, the French Ministry of Marine and Colonies in
1883 inaugurated an investigation of its condition, and of the
possibilities for improvement. This was made under the immediate
direction of G. Bouchon-Brandely, whose interesting report1 contains much data on this subject.
As
a result of these investigations and recommendations, a restricted
season for fishing was adopted, and only a portion of the reefs was
thrown open each year, a decree of the governor, published in the
"Journal Officiel" of the colony, determining the islands in which the
fishery might be prosecuted. This interdiction, known locally as rahui, is for the purpose of permitting the oysters to develop, and thus prevent the exhaustion of the reefs.
By
decree of January 24, 1885, a restriction was made against taking
shells measuring less than 17 centimeters in diameter on the interior
nacre, or weighing less than 200 grams per valve. But this was repealed
in 1890, and since then there has been no restriction on the size of
the oysters that may be fished.
The
pearl fishery and the isolated leper station are the principal claims
which attract the attention of the outside world to the island of
Penrhyn or Tongareva, one of the Manahiki group, in Lat. 90 S., and Long. 1580
W. This desolate atoll island consists of a ring of land a few hundred
yards in width, inclosing a lagoon nine miles long and five miles wide,
and it produces little else than pearls and pearl shell. The white
gravelly shore yields little vegetation except cocoanuts, which share
with fish in furnishing sustenance to the semi-amphibious natives.
At
Penrhyn the pearl fishery is carried on in the clear, limpid waters of
the atoll where the oysters are undisturbed by storms. The shells
belong mostly to the golden-edged variety, and are of good quality, the
value in London ranging from £100 to £250 per ton. Relatively few
pearls are found, amounting in aggregate value to only about one fourth
of the value of the shells. These are the principal objects of the
fishery ; the finding of pearls is incidental, but careful search is
always made for them, and some choice specimens have been secured.
On
the coast of New Caledonia, pearling is of recent origin, dating as an
industrial enterprise from 1897, although previous to that time some
shells and pearls had been secured by native beach-combers. This island
is 220 miles in length and 30 in width, situated 850 miles southeast
of Australia, and about the same distance from New Zealand.
1 "La Pêche et la Culture des Huîtres Perlières à Tahiti ; Pêcheries de l'Archipel Tua-
motu," Paris, 1885.
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