16 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. XV 



Unsettled weather and the early onset of monsoon conditions 

 interfered somewhat with the fishery, but the principal reason for 

 the poor catches lay in the lack of success in recruiting an adequate 

 labour force for the Eameswaram section of the fishery. The maxi- 

 mum number of canoes engaged there was 22 as against 32 in the 

 preceding season, which again was less by 1 1 than the number 

 employed in 1918-19. The decrease therefore has been in progress 

 for two years past. One of the divers was stabbed in the chest by 

 the tail spine of a, ray-fish ; the alarm at this entailed a few days' 

 cessation of work. Of the 12,375 undersized shells brought ashore, 

 10,923 were returned alive to the sea, a very satisfactory proportion. 

 For the Vedalai fishery a number of Kilakarai divers were recruited 

 to make good the deficiency caused by a decrease in the number of 

 local men taking part in the fishery. This policy is to be developed 

 further during the coming season, as the offshore beds here are 

 capable of yielding considerably larger quantities of shells than last 

 year's catch. The Tirupalakudi fishery was the only successful one 

 in this section, the catch amounting to 36,641 ; that for 1919-20 

 was only 15,735. The men of this place have no other occupation 

 beyond fishing and diving ; therefore when chanks are plentiful 

 and promise better returns than ordinary fishing, the chank diving 

 force automatically increases 



22. The unimportant Sivagancja chank fishery leased from the 

 zamindari for administrative reasons, yielded 2,661 shells, mostly 

 caught in nets. No regular beds are known off this part of the 

 coast and this makes chank fishing as a separate occupation too 

 unremunerative to pursue. 



23. Leased chank fisheries. — The chank fisheries of the sea- 

 board districts from Tanjore to Nellore inclusive are not susceptible 

 of departmental fishery, primarily because of physical characteristics 

 of the shore line coupled with the strong inshore currents and the 

 frequent turbidity of the water over the chank-bearing bottom. It 

 happens also that several of the nets most commonly used, particu- 

 larly the thurivalai, sweep the bottom and bring up large numbers 

 of chanks. The system has therefore been evolved of leasing the 

 exclusive right to purchase these shells from the fishermen ; the lessee 

 appoints agents in the different villages to receive and pay for the 

 shells. The sums received in respect of the various districts are 

 noted above in paragraph 19. No expenditure is incurred by 

 Government in respect of these fisheries, the whole rental being 

 clear profit. The total amounted last year to Es. 7,262-12-10. 

 The Fisheries department may justly claim credit for the satisfac- 

 tory development of this section of its work, for when I took charge 

 of the chank fisheries in 1909, no revenue was derived from any 

 district save Tanjore, where the paltry sum of Es. 261 represented 

 the total revenue obtained from this source. 



