and
throughout the fleet the men have become so adept that they regard the
pearls as their contraband perquisites. And the ease with which these
may be secreted is surpassed only by the facility with which they may
be sold, notwithstanding legislation to the contrary. Indeed, some
employers make no claim to the pearls found, thus enabling them to
secure fishermen at lower rates of wages.
As
previously noted, the pearls constitute only an incidental catch in the
fisheries on the Australian coast, but in the aggregate the yield is
very large. The yield in the northwest Australian fishery in 1906 is
estimated at £50,000, local valuation; in the Queensland fishery
£33,000; in that of South Australia £5000, a total of £88,000 or
$440,000.1 Relatively few seed-pearls are obtained, and some
of the pearls are of great size. Some beautiful specimens have been
found, but usually they have less luster and are more irregular in form
than the Persian or the Indian output.
Among
the remedies suggested for improving the condition of the Australian
pearl reefs may be mentioned the establishment of six inches as the
minimum size of the shell that may be taken (fiveinches is now
permitted in Queensland, and there is no restriction in Western
Australia), the closure of certain areas for stated periods from time
to time, and a limit on the number of vessels employed. The government
resident at Thursday Island, Mr. Hugh Milman, who has had long
acquaintance with the industry, strongly recommends the adoption of a
system of artificial culture ; and in the meantime, to foster the
industry, "licenses should be granted to a reduced number of boats and
certain sheltered areas should be closed altogether for a few years to
give the beds time to recover. This latter procedure, however, the
pearlers themselves are not in favor of, as they are of the opinion
that the weather conditions against which they have to contend are
sufficient protection to prevent the denudation of the principal
grounds."
A
few years ago certain areas in Torres Straits were proclaimed closed
for a period against the removal of pearl shell ; but, owing to the
want of effective patrol, the shell was poached to a very large extent,
and consequently the good that should have resulted from the
experiment was not apparent. Owing to the impracticability of
continuous patrol, and the want of proper legislation to bring the
offenders to book, it was decided to remove the restrictions.
The Sharks Bay fishery, to which we have previously referred,2
is prosecuted by means of small sail-boats using light dredges, except
in the case of the very shallow or "pick-up banks," where the oysters
are commonly removed by hand. Some years ago this fishery was of
'To this should be added the output of Sharks Bay, amounting to £2000 in 1906, making a total of $450,000. 2 See pp. 70 and 200.
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