Licenses were of two kinds, according to the nature of the fishery. To engage in fishing with the aid of diving-suits, the fee was five hundred pesos annually, for each of the greatest number of divers beneath the surface of the water at any one time. For fishing without submarine armor, the fee was five pesos annually, for each of the greatest number of nude divers to be employed by the vessel during any voyage, and the same sum for each of the greatest number of dredges or rakes to be employed beneath the surface at any one time; but this did not apply to vessels under 15 tons, owned and operated wholly by native Moros, until January 1, 1906.
It was also made unlawful to catch or to have in one’s possession within the Moro province “any pearl shell or any bivalvular or lateral plate, or any pearl shell of less than 4½ inches in diameter, measured with a flat, rigid measuring rod along the line of the ligament which joins one binocular or lateral plate to the other at the hinge, unless the lateral plate of such shell be more than 7 inches in diameter measured with a flat, rigid measuring rod from the outer edge of the horny lips to the center of the hinge, the rod being so placed as to form a right angle with the line of the hinge.”[[269]]
According to a report furnished by the Mining Bureau at Manila, there were seven vessels fishing with diving-suits in the Sulu Archipelago in 1905, each representing an investment of about 6000 pesos. In 1906 there were ten vessels engaged in this industry, and the collection on licenses for that fiscal year amounted to 3375 pesos. These vessels are mostly small Moro craft which cannot venture upon distant cruises in the archipelago for prospecting purposes, and their operations are confined for the most part to the immediate vicinity of Jolo. Each vessel carries one diver, a tender, a cook, and four sailors. In addition to food supplies, the sailors and the cook each receive twelve to fifteen pesos per month, the tender thirty to forty pesos per month, and the diver the same amount and in addition thereto a bonus of twenty cents for each shell secured. Near Jolo the vessels work throughout the year, but farther north very little fishing is done from December to April, when monsoons prevail. The man in charge of each vessel is obliged by law to keep an accurate record of the number and weight of shells found, and his figures are checked up by a customs official at either Jolo or Zamboanga, the ports of discharge.
To enable them to secure pearl-oysters at depths of from twenty to forty fathoms, the Sulus have long made use of a dredge (badja) peculiarly constructed of native materials, and admirably adapted to the purpose. This consists of five or more long wooden teeth slightly curved and spreading outward, with an expanse at the ends of twenty inches or more. The dredge is properly balanced by two stones, and a bridle rope is so attached to it that, when thrown overboard and towed behind a canoe drifting with the current or the wind, the implement rests on the curve of the teeth, which are in almost a horizontal position. As the teeth enter the gaping shell of an oyster lying on the bottom, the animal instantly closes tightly on the intruder and effects its own capture. The principle is similar to that of the “crowfoot” dredge of the Mississippi River, although the design of the implement is radically different. A second rope is attached so as to raise and lower the implement and to detach it from corals, rocks, and other objects against which it may catch in its course on the bottom. This dredge is designed for very deep areas, where the bottom is relatively smooth.
The Moros employ yet another method of fishing, using a magtung-tung or three-pronged catcher, which is let down by a rattan rope and by means of which individual shells sighted from the surface are obtained. When the water is perfectly clear this implement can be operated where the depth is fifteen or eighteen fathoms, but its use is impractical where the water is clouded or there is even a slight ripple on the surface.
However, the bulk of the catch is made by the nude divers, of which there are hundreds at Maimbun, Tapul, Lugus and elsewhere. In their small boats these Moro fishermen visit the reefs, where the boats are anchored. Provided only with a short, heavy knife, with which to release the shells from the bottom or, perchance, as a weapon of defense against sharks and other fish, they enter the water feet first, but soon turn and descend head downward, precisely as on the Australian coast, swimming toward the bottom with bold strokes. The Sulu pearl-divers—and especially those at Parang, Patian and Sicubun—are among the most expert in the world. They easily penetrate to twelve fathoms and, if necessary, to eighteen or twenty fathoms. But they are not very industrious, and seldom descend more than twelve or fifteen times a day, preferring rather to go with their wants half satisfied than to satiate them by more active exertions.
Many descents may be necessary to locate and obtain a single oyster, but when this is secured the shell alone may ordinarily be traded for sufficient to supply the fisherman’s needs for several days, and there is always the chance of a pearl. After a short day of labor, the fishermen return, and the oysters which they have secured are opened and examined for pearls. After the flesh has been carefully searched it is placed in the sun to dry and, later, to be used for food, and the shells are carefully cleaned and placed under cover until they may be bartered or sold.
The Sulu shell is characterized by a peculiar yellowish tint around the rim, by means of which it is readily distinguished. Its size and beautiful iridescence make it very attractive, and for choice individual specimens high prices are received. It is the largest of the mother-of-pearl shells, single half-shells of “bold” size average one and one half pounds in weight, while some attain a weight of six pounds. The body of the shell furnishes the most beautiful of all mother-of-pearl, yet the necessity for discarding the yellow rim, or, rather, for using it separate from the rest, makes it unpopular with manufacturers. The annual product is estimated at 200 tons, valued in London and New York at $200,000, and of pearls about $30,000 worth.
The Sulu pearls are frequently large and of choice quality, but they are far more inclined to a yellowish tint than those from Australian waters, 1300 miles southward. The sultans accumulated the finest collection of them, and some of these found their way into the markets from time to time as the condition of the exchequer ran low or royal emergency required, as in 1882, for instance, when it was necessary to defray the expense of Sultan Buderoodin’s pilgrimage to Mecca. During the last six or seven years, much has been heard of the present sultan’s collection, which he largely inherited, and some fairly good specimens have been presented to prominent Americans.
Pearl-oysters are among the important resources of the inshore waters of the Dutch East Indies, including the surrounding seas of Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Celebes, the Aru Islands, the Moluccas or Spice Islands, and Papua or New Guinea. For very many years the natives have gathered pearl shell and pearls from these waters, and especially on the coast of the Aru Islands, at Gilolo or Halmahera, and the islands thereabout, on the east coast of Celebes, and about the Sunda group. The collections were made in the shallow waters by beach-combing and by nude diving, and were bartered with the Chinese and Arab traders sailing from Singapore, Macassar, and other ports. Occasionally a pearling vessel from Singapore or from Torres Straits would try its luck in these waters; but, except for the work of the natives, the reefs were practically untouched previous to 1883.