Pearling Season
p. 11 · Read in the full issue
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From Our Own Correspondent .
Thursday Is., March 28.
TiHE boats of the pearling fleet are moving out for the first drift of the year after being laid up for overhaul and repairs.
Shellers are carrying on under last year’s agreement with the American buyers; but the representative is ex pected to be in Thursday Island some time before May to discuss arrange ments.
Under the scheme of voluntary restric tion of pearlshell, Thursday Island quota is fixed at about 460 tons for the year, which runs out at about 7½ tons per boat. So far, there is still a consider able portion of last year’s quota of shell waiting to be shipped; at the time of writing less than half had been de spatched.
Shell payments are due at time of shipment, so shortage in the financial market of America means that consign ments, dependent upon the cash being available when the cases are put aboard the steamer, cannot go forward as rapidly as we should like.