S3 



Letter — from Sir F. A. Nichol: c N, k.c.i.e., Honorary Director 



of Fisheries. 

 Daied — the 25th June 191 2. 



I have the honour to submit my annual report on the 

 operations of the Fishery office from ist April 191 1 to 

 31st March 191 2. 



2. Experiniental stations. — These were at work in 

 Calicut and Tanur. As proposed in my letter No. Ref. 

 34, dated 27th January 191 1, I moved the work of 

 preparing" sardine oil and guano from Cannanore, where 

 fish were not very abundant and private work in the oil 

 and guano business is well started, to Tanur where fish 

 are ordinarily far more abundant ; this necessitated 

 moving other curing operations also as it was impossible 

 for me to supervise work at two distant points. Tanur, 

 near Calicut, has more fishing boats than any other 

 fishery centre in Malabar and lands a much greater 

 weight of fish ; 8 acres of sandy beach were secured by 

 the courtesy of the Revenue Department, and a good 

 fishery station is gradually being formed there ; several 

 hundred cocoanuts have been planted and are thriving, 

 and when fully planted, the income from the trees should 

 pay for the subordinate staff of the station. 



3. Light citring was advanced ; fish can now be 

 brought into the yard between 7 and 8 a.m., cleaned, 

 brined or salted for 20 to 30 minutes (or even less), 

 sufficiently dried, packed, and despatched by noon on 

 rail and such fish will keep good for several days ; the 

 fish is but slightly saline and when soaked is practically 

 fresh ; parcels were repeatedly sent to Kodaikanal — 

 three or four days in transit — and arrived in good 

 condition. Such fish is, of course, not fresh fish, but is 

 a very fair substitute for it, and, being only slightly 

 salted, has the advantage's of having lost but little of its 

 nutritive value and of its digestibility. When such fish 

 are smoked for a few hours their keeping capacity is much 

 enhanced and, to Europeans at all events, the flavour 

 greatly improved ; these smoked fish are, by many 

 consumers, much preferred to anything of this class that 

 can be imported, since imported fish may become insipid 

 by canning or by the voyage. 



4. Light salted fish were also fully dried ; it was found 

 that, using perfect cleanliness, fish need be kept in salt 

 for much less than one hour, and can then be dried, by 



