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55. As with the present drift-net fishing in Malabar 

 waters, long lining having reached a certain stage of develop- 

 ment is unable to make further progress because of the limits 

 imposed by the small size and crank nature of a dug-out canoe 

 for operations on a more extensive scale than the present. 

 The industry has reached the limit of development capable 

 under present conditions and no advance can be made till the 

 advent of larger and more weatherly boats. The shark fishery 

 particularly appears to offer immense opportunities for develop- 

 ment if long lines be used from larger boats. With such boats, 

 seer-whiffing after the Sinhalese fashion, employed on the way 

 to and from the shark grounds, should prove a profitable and 

 easily carried on addition to the ordinary operations. With a 

 large boat carrying a stout mast the objection of the liners to 

 use a larger craft (in the form of the big size of canoe) would 

 vanish, for lifting tackle from the mast head would furnish the 

 means requisite to heave even the biggest sharks aboard. 

 Seagoing boats would also permit of efforts being made to 

 develop pelagic fisheries in the neighbourhood of and also 

 beyond the 100-fathomline forbonito, flying-fish and swordfish 

 more especially. Bonito we see caught by the Eatnagiri men 

 in fair numbers in their vowri drift nets, we know they are 

 speared in the Laccadives, and that the bonito fishery forms a 

 great and profitable industry and the chief employment of the 

 islanders at Minicoy and in the Maldives, but from the experi- 

 ence of the Japanese and the Maldivians hook and line in 

 conjunction with live bait appears to be the most killing 

 method. The possibility of founding and developing a great 

 bonito fishery is sufficiently tangible to warrant a determined 

 and sustained effort being made when a suitable boat, such as 

 the projected 40-foot fishing lugger to be built for the Fisheries 

 department, is available. A peculiarly favourable factor which 

 makes largely for the eventual success of the suggested investi- 

 gation is the ease with which the necessary live bait (sardines) 

 may usually be procured on the West Coast. Should the 

 attempt be decided upon it will be desirable to engage a couple 

 of Maldivians skilled in this particular fishery to furnish the 

 requisite technical advice and to teach the art to the regular 

 crew, they in turn being instructed by the officers of the 

 department how to improve their present imperfect curing 

 methods. Indeed there is much to be said in favour of having 

 a complete crew of Maldivians, men from Minicoy preferably 

 as they belong to the Collectorate of Malabar ; these men are 

 born sailors and fishermen, and as they frequently take service 

 aboard steamers in the Indian coasting trade tbey have not 



