PEARL FISHERIES OF AUSTRALIA
Ocean's gem, the purest
Of nature's works! What days of weary journeyings,
What sleepless nights, what toils on land and sea,
Are borne by men to gain thee !
Unknown.
As
regards area of distribution the most extensive pearl-oyster grounds of
the world are situated on the northern and western coasts of Australia.
These are located within the jurisdictions of Queensland, Western
Australia, and South Australia ; and extend in irregular patches from
near Cooktown on the northeast almost to Fremantle at the southwest, a
distance of nearly 3000 miles. Those in Queensland are commonly known
as the Torres Straits fisheries, as they are especially important
there ; but they extend a considerable distance beyond each end of the
strait, and pearling expeditions are made from the limits of the Great
Barrier coral reef northward to the vicinity of New Guinea.1 Those of Western Australia are commonly spoken of as the Northwest fisheries.
The
fisheries of Queensland and of Western Australia are approximately
equal in extent, as regards number of vessels, boats, and men employed,
and the quantity and value of the catch, with the advantage slightly in
favor of the Northwest fishery in the last four or five years. In 1905,
according to the official figures, the Queensland fishery gave
employment to 348 vessels and 2850 men, and yielded shell and pearls
worth £135,000, which was the smallest output since 1890. The Western
Australia fishery, exclusive of Sharks Bay, employed 365 vessels in
1905, and about the same number of men as in Queensland, and yielded
£196,000 worth of shell and pearls. The fishery of South Australia
employed about 60 vessels and 375 men, and yielded about £25,000 worth
of shell and pearls. This makes for the whole of Australia, except
Sharks Bay hereinafter noted, a total of 773 vessels, 6075 men, and
an output worth £356,000. It should be understood that the South
Australia fishery is not prosecuted on the southern coast of the
continent, but on the northern coast, in what is known as the Northern
Territory of South Australia.
Three species of pearl-oysters are found in Australian waters. The largest species, Margaritifera maxima, which
is by far the most important and widely distributed, occurs to a
greater or less extent throughout the whole of this region. This yields
the standard mother-
1 "Report on Pearl Fisheries of North Queensland," Brisbane, 1890.
