"silver-lip pearl oyster specie, Pinctada maxima."
"All share the common feature of being located on the seabed with underlying rock."
Typical seabed substrate for oysters:
"a variety of sponges are present on the bottom. Other fauna present include soft corals, sea pens and crinoids. No hard corals are generally present."
Broome:
"By 1910 there were nearly 400 pearl lugger boats and 3,500 people in the industry supplying up to 75% of the world output of MOP. Production reached 2000 tonnes (approx. 2 million individuals) of pearl oyster collected per year (Malone et al., 1988)."
"Pearl oyster fishing grounds are located from the Lacepede Channel, north of Broome down to Exmouth Gulf in the south."
 |
| courtesy Wikipedia |
"Pearl oyster patches in very deep water (>30m) are not fished at all as the safety factor does not allow an economical dive time limit." Present day.
Period (circa 1912) anecdotes:
"The Diver was working in about 19 fathoms of water remaining down 1 hour ." 35 m.
"The powers of the natives in diving, especially the females, are spoken of as something wonderful, they go down to a depth of seven fathoms [c.13m] and remain below a time that astonishes their white employers."
"The Pearl Oyster Fishery, which targets the Silverlipped Pearl Oyster (Pinctada maxima)
comprises both wild-caught and hatchery-reared oysters. Diving for pearl oyster wild stock
occurs mainly along Eighty Mile Beach, ideally in water depths less than 20 m"
Captain Upjohn's coordinates (according to the link below) are roughly in a stretch 43 to 66 m
deep, the seabed predominated by sand and scattered patches of coral. Shells are scarcer in
this zone further out and too deep for pearl divers of the past or present. It stands to reason
that if Koombana lies in this vicinity, she is too deep and beyond the rich oyster beds to have
been accidentally discovered by pearlers.
The same cannot be said for the stretch of sea between Port Hedland; Bedout Island and
Condon. The wreck would have been found by now if she lay there....
Important update:
https://koombanarevisited.blogspot.com/2019/08/coordinates-conclusion.html
courtesy:
http://fishing-app.gpsnauticalcharts.com/i-boating-fishing-web-app/fishing-marine-charts-navigation.html?title=Western+Australia+-+Solitary+Island+to+Bedout+Island+boating+app#10/-19.1480/119.6439
https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/pages/489e726d-1763-4007-8139-32d824d5b55d/files/application-2013-appendix2.pdf
https://www.bhp.com/-/media/bhp/regulatory-information-media/iron-ore/western-australia-iron-ore/0000/main-document/persection6bexistingmarineenvironment.pdf
A pearling Master's Journey - Norman.
Wikipedia
No comments:
Post a Comment