IOR/R/15/5/176

This file documents concerns held by the British that pearl fisheries – both within and beyond the territorial waters of the Arab rulers – might be exploited by foreign parties. Much of the correspondence speculates on the extent of Persia's interest in the pearl fisheries that are not within their own territorial waters, including not only those identified by the British as being Arab fisheries but also the following recently identified fisheries: shallow beds outside territorial waters that have not been worked by Arab pearl divers, and deep beds outside territorial waters that have not been exploited by Arab divers and in fact cannot be exploited without mechanical equipment.

The file contains copies of correspondence between the Admiralty, the India Office, and the Foreign Office, which discusses how best to protect the deep water beds from foreign exploitation (i.e. by Persian, Japanese, or other foreign parties), in light of the fact that the Arab rulers have no valid claim to exclusive fishing rights.

In addition, the file includes correspondence on the following: an expedition to the Iranian side of the Gulf by a Danish citizen named Dr Harald Blegvad, Director of the Danish Biological Station, who has been engaged by the Iranian Government to investigate the waters of the Gulf, with particular reference to fishing; the potential impact that deep-sea operations might have on fishing in shallow pearl beds.

Correspondents include the following: the Political Resident in the Persian Gulf; the Political Agent, Kuwait; the British Minister, Tehran; the India Office; the Foreign Office; the Admiralty; the Ruler of Kuwait, Shaikh Ahmad al-Jabir as Sabah [Shaikh Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ]; the Director of the British Museum (Natural History), Clive Forster-Cooper; Dr Cyril Crossland, zoologist at the University of Copenhagen's Zoological Museum.