Travels in India (Tavernier) 105.2

105.2

I shall say in the first place that there are three fisheries on the coast of Sardinia. That obtained at Arguerrel is the best and the most beautiful of all, the second locality is called Boza, and the third is close to the island of St. Pierre. There is another fishery on the coasts of the island of Corse, and the coral found there is slender but beautiful in colour. It is found at two other places on the coast of Africa — one near the Bastion de France, and the other at Tabarque; the coral from this locality is fairly thick and long, but the colours are pale. There is a seventh fishery on the coast of Sicily, near Trapano; the coral there is slender, but of good colour. There is still another locality on the coast of Catalogne, towards Cape de Ouiers; the coral there is of excellent colour and thick, but the branches are very short. There is, moreover, a ninth fishery in the island of Majorque, of the same nature as that of the island of Corse; and these are all the places in the Mediterranean where there are coral fisheries, for there are none in the Ocean. The following is the method of fishing for it. As coral grows under hollowed rocks where the sea is deep, the following device is used in order to obtain it. The fishers bind two rafters together in the form of a cross, and place a large lump of lead in the centre to make them sink to the bottom.