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condition is miserable. Mukkuva men go out for fishing and 

 women do the curing. As a rule fishermen are indebted to 

 Mappilla merchant curers who advance money on condition of get- 

 ting fish at 10 to 20 per cent less than the prevailing rates; no 

 interest is charged but a standing loan is kept up as a hold on 

 fishermen. Labourer fishermen are remunerated by shares in the 

 day's catches. Mappilla curers engage coolies on daily wages of 2 

 to 4 annas ; Mukkuva curers rarely employ coolies and job rates 

 also prevail- Between Quilandy and Badagara over a distance of 

 more than 14 miles, there are no fish-curing yards though there 

 are several big fishing hamlets. 



ELATHUR, PUTHIAPPA. 



Fishermen and curers are generally poor ; in slack season 

 their condition is very miserable. Money is borrowed from 

 Mappilla fish merchants with no interest but on condition of selling 

 fish at 10 to 20 per cent less than the prevailing rate. Standing 

 debt is maintained which is cleared only when the curers resort to 

 otherlenders ; by this system the curers and fishermen do not get the 

 full value of the fish. Labourer fishermen employed for fishing 

 are given a share of the catches and the coolies for curing are paid 

 at 3 to 5 annas for men, 2 to 3 annas per woman and 2 annas for 

 a boy. 



CALICUT, NORTH. 



The actual fishermen are mostly Mukkuvas and Pudu Islams 

 and a few Kollakars. Most of them have taken advances varying 

 from Rs. 200 to Rs. 500 from Mappilla curers and merchants on 

 condition of supplying all the fish caught by then; to their creditors 

 at the current market rate, less TO per cent. No interest is charged 

 on those advances which are treated as standing loans,, but in 

 addition to this they also take small loans occasionally in times of 

 stress, etc. ; these latter are deducted by the capitalists out of the 

 price of fish supplied dav by day. The fishermen may also raise 

 loans from other money-lenders who are not interested in the fish- 

 ing industry, on the security of their dwelling-houses or compounds, 

 etc., at the rate of interest ranging from J 2 to 24 per cent per annum 

 but it is very rarely that they can raise a loan on personal security. 

 The condition of fishermen is worse than that of their brethren in 

 Cannanore and other places in the north of the district. They 

 manage and regulate their industry more or less on the same 

 lines as in Cannanore but the local Panchayet is a very weak body 

 which has hardly any control over the members. Most of the 

 curers are Mappilla capitalists who carry on their operations with 

 hired labour. The women curers are few in number and do the 

 work themselves. 



As Calicut is a city with nearly 8o,000 people there is a good 

 demand for fresh fish and, moreover, a quantity of fish is packed 

 in ice and sent to the Nilgiris, Bangalore, and other places. Hence 

 the price of fish is much dearer than other places on the coast. 

 Sometimes fresh fish is brought from Tanur, Quilandy, etc., to 

 Calicut for local consumption. Being also a seaport a large 

 number of fisherfolk are engaged in the landing and shipping 

 business for several months in the year. Nevertheless the 

 condition of this people during the monsoon months is miserable. 

 8 



