No. 2(IQ22) LACCADIVE FISHERIES $$ 



from four to six. It appears to me that the larvae before they come 

 to the sedentary stage are driven by the force of the current from 

 the east to the west through the dividing channel and attach 

 themselves to corals, etc. The difficulty of finding proper divers in 

 the island made it impossible to verify the existence of mature 

 oysters in the deeper waters of the vicinity. 



This small islet is of little interest save for the shells to be 

 collected around it during low tides. The few coco-palms standing 

 there bore no fruit ; they are either eaten by rats which infest the 

 island or by the visitors who resort to it for fuel cutting and for 

 fishing. Small trees abound and every tree and bush are overgrown 

 and hidden by the thick covering of a spreading creeper making 

 them impenetrable and giving refuge to myriads of eye-flies. The 

 corals and rocks along the water's edge are worn into sharp edges 

 and points and the beach is strewn with plenty of dead branching 

 Madrepora. Natica and a knobbed Purpura are present in large 

 numbers. 



On the 2nd December a plankton collection was made in the sea 

 outside the reef and at noon the contents of a haul of Kandalivalai 

 drawn in the lagoon were examined. There were 45 fish in all, of 

 which 21 were Caranx, 15 Lutjanus, 4 Balistes and 3 big Osiracions 

 with a stray Tetrodon and Naseus unicornis. The stomach contents 

 of Caranx, Lutjanus and Naseus were examined. The last appears 

 to be of vegetarian habit as the stomach contained a large amount 

 of seaweed in various stages of digestion. 



The next day was spent in going over the reefs on the eastern 

 side of the island and in examining the sandy patches therein for 

 Amphioxus and Balanoglcssus. But none were found. In the 

 evening the catches of a boat practising " Chiittu " method of fish 

 catching in the lagoon, were examined. Sphyrsena, Belone and 

 Hemirhamphus are the fish caught principally by this method. 



On the 4th December the three uninhabited ^islands of 

 Bangaram, Tinnakara and Parali (7 miles north of Agatti) were 

 visited. The first lies in a north to south direction, the other two 

 east and west. The first is separated by a wider and somewhat 

 deeper channel passable only by small fishing boats and at low 

 tide from 3 to 4 fathoms deep. Big masses of Porites are seen in 

 patches about 1 5 to 30 yards diameter trying to rear their heads to 

 water level. In recent years land has formed on all sides except 

 the south and the whole reef at low water appears to be one 



