Up until 1932 diving for pearls was the main resource of income in Bahrain. The pearling journey typically took three or four months, usually starting in June and ending in October every year. The number of pearling ships which sailed to the pearl beds (Hairat) in some seasons reached more than 2,500 ships. Pearling bed depths were generally from 7-20 (Ba’a); more than a metre. Divers would not spend more than one or two minutes underwater.