Bill Abernethy, pearl fisherman, Scotland

Mar. 03, 1967 - The Fisherman Whose Catch May Hang Around The Necks Of Royalty: Bill Abernethy's world lies at the bottom of a Scottish river. A dark, swirling silent world where the prizes are not the famous Tay salmon, but the equally famous Tay pearls. Sprawled across the bows of his flat-bottomed boat, or wading against a fast current, he scoops out the mussels - and his living - from the riverbed. The freshwater pearls which this 35-year old man, of Coupar Angus, Scotland, wins with a pronged ash stick are eagerly sought by goldsmiths. And now a Government film unit has flown North to record the history of Tay pearls, which adorn hundreds of necks, including those of Queen Elizabeth II and the Queen Mother. Bill - who might be called the Pearly King of Scotland - will star in the documentary, which will be used to publicise Scotland's pearl fishing in North America, Latin American, Canada and the Commonwealth. At his modest two-roomed cottage in Causeway bachelor Bill said that pearl fishing gives him a living for nine months of the year. He fishes the whole stretch from the Black Mount to Inchyra, wearing chest-high waders and gripping a glass observation mask with his teeth. If the water is more than 5 ft deep he uses a boat. Bill, who claims he can spot a pearl-filled oyster by its shape, speaks guardedly of his income. His biggest find was a rosy pink, one inch in diameter, which he sold for 70. Photo shows Checking over the good from the bad pearls - Bill Abernethy selects from a day's pearl fishing

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