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ARCOT THORAI AND POINT CALIMERE. 



Fishermen and curers are mostly poor or of ordinary means but 

 are not financed by capitalists or middlemen. Some of the well- 

 to-do ticket-holders give advances ranging from Rs. 25 to lOO to 

 fishermen on condition of getting their fish at certain fixed rates 

 but no interest is charged on such advances. 



MUTHUPET. 



The ticket-holders are all Marakayars but the fishermen belong 

 to the Karaiyar and Sembadavan castes as well as Sonagars. The 

 ticket-holders are of ordinary means with a capital varying from 

 Rs. 100 to 1,000. They make advances of money from Rs. 25 to 100 

 to the Sembadavar and Karaiyar fishermen to secure their catches 

 but the Sonagar fishermen do not take such advances but sell their 

 catches on the beach to the highest bidder. The payment of the 

 cost of fish is made once a week. A few of the ticket-holders own 

 boats and nets and conduct fishing with the help of their relatives. 

 Some of the fishing boats go so far as Point Calimere for fishing off 

 that coast. Big fish are slit open and gutted at sea by the fisher- 

 men as soon as they are captured, in order to keep them in good 

 condition till they are landed, but most of the fish brought to the 

 yard are in a tainted condition as they are caught at a distance of 

 7 to 15 miles and much time lapses between the time of capture and 

 the time of their arrival at the yard. "Pit curing" is mostly 

 practised. Hired labour is generally employed and are paid at 

 daily wages according to the nature of the work. 



ADIRAMPATNAM. 



The ticket-holders are Marakayars most of whom are of ordinary 

 means. The fishermen are Karaiyars, Sembadavans,Kadiyars and 

 Valaiyars as well as Sonagars who are the owners of boats and 

 nets. The boats used in fishing are dug-out canoes costing Rs. 150 

 to 200 and imported from the Malabar coast. Long line fishing was 

 introduced by Sunnambukkarars some ten years ago and is now 

 more extensively used than hand-lining. In order to minimise the 

 chances of tainting large fish are gutted in the canoes themselves 

 as soon as they are captured. The fisherwomen engage themselves 

 in the preparation of hemp and twine for making nets and in 

 taking fish to the neighbouring villages for sale. Some of the 

 Sonagar fishermen also find employment in the landing and ship- 

 ping trade. The ticket-holders are the capitalists who control the 

 fishing industry by making advances of money to the fishermen and 

 thereby binding them to sell their catches to them at a rate about 

 25 per cent lower than the current market rate. Hired labour is 

 generally employed by ticket-holders for transporting fish but 

 they themselves do the splitting, gutting, etc. 



MALLIAPATNAxM. 



The ticket-holders are Marakayars in well-to-do circumstances 



but the majority of the fishermen are pcor and are financed by the 



ticket-holders who are capitalists. The fishermen receive advances 



varying from Rs. 3CO to 400 from the capitalists to purchase boats 



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