During the hundred years following, the pearl reefs of Panama were not very productive, and relatively little attention was paid to them. The development of a market for the shells in the mother-of-pearl trade, about 1840, enhanced the profits of the few natives engaged in pearling in a desultory manner, and led to an increase in the number of fishermen. During some years when industrial and market conditions were favorable, large quantities of shells were exported. In 1855, for instance, 650 tons of these shells were shipped to England alone, and in 1859 the reported quantity was 957 tons. Those from the Island of San José, one of the Pearl Archipelago, were said to be the largest and choicest in the bay. Many of them were used in decorating the twin towers of the stately old cathedral at Panama.

Since then the industry has fluctuated greatly, depending on the market for the shell. Many outsiders have experimented in the fishery, but most of these attempts have resulted in financial loss, through mismanagement, storms, sickness, or other causes. A story is told locally of a party of thirty men, principally from Scotland, who arrived at Panama equipped with a diving-bell and such necessary machinery as air-pumps, windlasses, etc. Much was expected of their operations, but soon yellow fever broke out among them, and within six weeks two thirds of the members of the party had died. The remaining members, becoming disheartened, and in fear of the dread disease, lost no time in leaving the country. The diving-bell and machinery remained for several years as a curiosity at Panama, for no one returned to claim them, nor has the use of similar apparatus been attempted since then.

The scattered pearl reefs extend from the east side of the Bay of Panama nearly to the Costa Rica boundary. However, this gives an exaggerated idea of their area, as much of this territory yields no pearl-oysters whatever. The principal reefs and the headquarters of the fishery are at Archipelago de las Perlas or Pearl Islands, which are from thirty to sixty miles southeast of the Pacific terminus of the projected Panama Canal. This archipelago contains sixteen small islands, on which are about twice that number of small settlements of Negro and Indian descendants, with a total population of perhaps one thousand. About half of these live on Isla del Rey, the largest island, about fifteen miles long and half that in width. The chief village, San Miguel, is the center of the pearling industry, and consists mostly of palm-thatched huts and a handsome stone church, more costly than all the remaining buildings of the town combined. While the soil is fertile and some vegetables are raised, the inhabitants depend almost wholly on the fisheries.

In 1901, the Republic of Colombia invited bids for the right to operate the pearl and coral fisheries for a term of fifteen years, but nothing seems to have come of it, and the establishment of the Panama Republic in 1903 terminated the authority of Colombia in these resources.

The Panama fisheries differ widely in their character from those of Venezuela. The mollusk is much larger, averaging about six inches in diameter when fully grown, thus furnishing a valuable quality of mother-of-pearl. The shell constitutes the principal object of the fishery; the pearls themselves are of incidental importance, but are always looked for and anxiously expected.

The season extends from May to November, with a rest during the remaining five months of the year. The fishery is open to natives and to foreigners alike. While the leading fishermen employ diving-suits, which were introduced here about 1890, nude diving is yet practised to a considerable extent, the men descending in eight or ten, and some even in twelve fathoms of water. There is no restriction whatever on the nude fishermen, but for each machine diver an annual license fee of $125 United States currency is exacted.

Owing to the low market price for Panama shell during recent years, the fishery has not been vigorously prosecuted, and it has even dwindled to low proportions. A letter from one of the leading pearling companies in Panama states that the machine divers number about twenty, while there are about four hundred nude fishermen; and another firm likewise prominent, estimates these fishermen at twenty and three hundred respectively.

Yet a third pearling company writes that there are fifteen machine divers and two hundred head divers; and adds that the small demand for this quality of mother-of-pearl has made the condition of the industry about as bad as it could be; many who have capital invested are getting out of the business, and unless the market improves, the industry may be abandoned. Probably with the introduction of new capital and methods in the infant republic, the pearl resources may receive greater attention and a large development ensue.

The Panama pearls are of good quality and frequently of large size. In color they range from white to green and lead-gray, and frequently greenish black. Valuable pearls are not common, but occasionally the fisherman is amply rewarded. A letter from the American consul at Panama states that in 1899 a native boy, fifteen years old, fishing in shallow water, as much for sport as for profit, found a pearl which he sold to a local speculator for 4000 silver dollars ($1760); this speculator delivered the same pearl to a dealer in Panama for 10,000 silver dollars ($4400), and an offer of 30,000 francs was refused for it later in Paris. A pearl worth $2400 was reported as found within half a mile of the steamship anchorage at Panama. A pearl from a giant oyster resembling Tridacna, was an absolute egg-shape, pure cocoanut white, and weighed 169 grains; it was 21 mm. at the longest and 16.5 mm. at the narrowest part. The surface showed very distinctly a wavy structure, occasionally with a tiny, brighter central point; the surface under the glass resembling a honeycomb network. At the smallest point there was a radiated center with quite a brilliant field. It was worth only $100.

Not always, however, does the poor, ignorant fisherman receive the full value of his find; and many a story is told of some thoughtless improvident native, who, for less than a mess of pottage, “like the base Indian, threw a pearl away, richer than half his tribe.”