82 



As suspended in the water when set, a fleet of eight of 

 these nets, the usual complement of one canoe, is less than 60 

 fathoms long, stretched measure, and forms a curtain or wall of 

 net not much more than 12 feet in depth. Compare this with 

 the 16 to 100 nets operated by British drifters engaged in the 

 herring fishery, each of which is from 25 to 30 fathoms long by 

 a depth of 4| to 4f fathoms, averaging from 1,000 to over 2,500 

 fathoms when stretched and giving a working length of from a 

 mile to a mile and a half when mounted. In the case of mackerel 

 the length is even greater, extending to as much as 2§ miles ; 

 with these nets however the depth is decreased to 2 or 2^ 

 fathoms ; so that the total weight and area of fleets of these 

 two descriptions of nets when used by boats of the same size, 

 appoximate fairly closely. 



38. In ease it be said that it is invidious to make com- 

 parison with nets as employed in Europe where conditions may 

 be very different to those prevailing on the Indian coast, the 

 answer lies in what Eatnagiri fishermen are doing on the Cana- 



rese coast. At Mangalore and at Malpe any time between 

 October and March, these men may be seen putting to sea with 

 a fleet of nets in each boat 40 in number, each measuring from 

 27 to 35 fathoms long (stretched) or a total of from 1,080 to 

 1,400 fathoms ; the actual length when set averages about three 

 quarters of a mile. The comparison is well brought out in 

 tabular form thus : — 



Comparison of the dimensions of Indian and British drift nets. 



39. The appliances, methods, and boats employed by the 

 men are open to considerable and many improve- 



Eatnagiri 



ments, some of which will be touched upon later, but even as 

 they exist now their superiority to Malabar methods and gear 

 is so marked as to be beyond comparison ; the former are 



