518 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



but it does not follow that it is not adapted to local requirements. It may be true, 

 as a common Bengal proverb states, that " Nikarir kane sona, Jaliar parane tena " 

 (A middleman wears gold earrings and a fisherman wears rags), but the fisherman 

 of Bengal is not unique in being the subject of exploitation. 



We do not underestimate the difficulties of fishery administration and research 

 in Bengal, and we sympathise with Mr. Southwell in the problems he has en- 

 countered and still has to encounter. If we venture on criticism it is solely with 

 a view of assisting the Fishery Department of Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa. 



The improvement of the fish supply of the provinces, which is held out as one 

 of the main objects of the Department, is rather to be sought for in the encourage- 

 ment of the local fisherman than in the introduction of foreign methods of fishing. 

 Steam trawling, to quote one instance, is a profitable method of fishing in European 

 waters where the chief demersal fish are Gadoids and Pleuronectids. In the Bay 

 of Bengal the former family is absent and the latter family poorly represented 

 from a commercial standpoint. Other demersal fish are present, but it by no 

 means follows that they are adapted to the requirements of the local markets. The 

 native of Bengal has been accustomed to fresh-water or estuarine species, and 

 " Me/a na kai" (It is not sweet) is his comment on marine fish. The great problem 

 to be solved for the improvement of the fish supply of the province is that of 

 transport, and for this there are two essential factors : a cheap supply of ice and 

 rapid land and water carriage. 



The introduction of European or American methods of fish culture without 

 previous survey of the spawning habits of indigenous fish is also to be deprecated. 

 One is glad to notice that Mr. Southwell has grasped the main problem, which is 

 the tiding over the period of enormous mortality ensuing between the deposit of 

 the spawn and the fingerling stage and the distribution of the fry so saved. In all 

 probability this will be possible without elaborate plant or buildings. Naturally 

 there are considerable physical obstacles in a province which during the rains is 

 one vast swamp from the hills to the sea, but we hope the Department will be suc- 

 cessful in overcoming these obstacles, in adopting a rational system of saving the 

 fry, and in distributing them to localities where their growth can be made with 

 profit to the purchaser. Here again one of the great problems to be solved is that 

 of transport, as once the railways are left the difficulties of carriage of such delicate 

 objects as young fish are by no means to be underestimated. 



It is impossible to touch on many of the interesting points raised by Mr. 

 Southwell in his report. Reference, however, should not be omitted to the valuable 

 scientific investigations into the fisheries which have been inaugurated largely, it 

 must in fairness be stated, through the energy and enthusiasm displayed by Dr. 

 Annandale, the Superintendent of the Indian Museum at Calcutta. Without 

 a close co-operation between the Museum authorities and the Fishery Department 

 further progress will be impossible, and one is glad to note that Mr. Southwell 

 refers appreciatively to the assistance he has received from the Museum staff. 



There is one matter about which we may be permitted to utter a word of warning, 

 and that is " Fishery Legislation." The report states (p. 53) that " Up to the 

 present there are no fishery laws operative in Bengal," though it is to be presumed 

 that the (Indian) Fisheries Act of 1897, which forbids the use of explosives and 

 poisons for the destruction of fish, can be enforced if necessary. Apart from this 

 Act we feel convinced that no case has yet been made out for the enactment of any 

 restrictions as to fishing in Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa, and it is to be hoped that 

 years of research into the habits of the indigenous fish will precede any attempt of 

 the kind, and the mistakes made at home be avoided. 



