133 



he is deeply interested and for which his knowledge and 

 experience are invaluable. He was also mainly instru- 

 mental in preparing the West Coast fishery exhibits for 

 the Madras Exhibition, and was also a member of the 

 Central Committee. 



2 1. Social work. — As will be seen from Mr. Hornell's 

 report, good work has been done by him in connection 

 with the chank divers in the way of assisting them to 

 escape from the thraldom of dependence on boatowners 

 and other capitalists petty or otherwise ; he has also 

 further plans for assisting the ordinary fishermen to 

 obtain boats and gear by Government loans, and this 

 will be seriously taken up in the current year. On the 

 West Coast Mr. V. Govindan, Assistant Director, has 

 especially interested himself in similar matters, but more 

 from the co-operative and association standpoint, feeling 

 that the fisherfolk over great areas are " not in touch 

 with the civilised world " and that they require awaken- 

 ing and stimulating. Ignorance, superstition, and hide- 

 bound routine are but one item of backwardness ; 

 poverty and economic thraldom to the money-lender, 

 whether merchant, curer, or boatowner, form another ; 

 intemperance and entire unthrift a third ; while the 

 uncertainty of mere inshore fishing, the inability to fish 

 the deep, the long idle period — especially on the West 

 Coast — of the monsoon, the numerous holidays and off- 

 days, and the sickness induced by insanitation, are a 

 fourth. Bulletin No. 9 published during the year and 

 mainly compiled by the Assistant Director gives a good 

 deal of first-hand information on the condition of the 

 fisherfolk, but this is only a basis for much closer enquiry 

 during the next few year-s. 



22. It will be seen, then, that on this socio-economic 

 side enormous problems lie before the Fisheries Depart- 

 ment if it is to do its full duty by the fisherfolk. Some- 

 thing is being attempted, and, best of all symptoms, 

 partly by the people themselves. This department has, 

 through the Assistant Director, established a co-operative 

 society at Tanur, and a second was formed and registered 

 at Tellicherry with above 100 members, of whom about 

 30 were female curers and fish hawkers ; another was 

 in process of formation at Ouilandy. The Tanur society 

 was greatly hampered by the fish famine which, in fact, 



