32 



than trawling, boats ordinarily sea-worthy could readily 

 venture and stay out far beyond the lOO-fathom limit to 

 which the trawlers would be restricted. Even in the 

 south-west monsoon there are many weeks in which 

 fishing is not only possible but practised, especially where 

 mudbanks are found as near Cochin, and though waves 

 may at such times be high yet the weather is seldom 

 stormy. As regards ports and harbours, the coast is 

 not well provided for really large craft, since where har- 

 bours or backwaters exist there is usually a shallow bar ; 

 but during the fair season, large fishing smacks could, 

 like the coasting boats (pattamars), lie out in the open 

 with perfect safety, while in the monsoon such boats 

 would lie up in harbours such as Cochin, Mangalore, 

 etc., venturing out whenever the sea is practicable ; 

 where there are mudbanks there is less difficulty. On 

 the whole, I consider, that these West Coast waters are 

 admirably adapted physically for the development of 

 fishing. 



33. One circumstance indeed seems unfortunate ; the 



shore and bottom of sand, mud, 



Apparent and regrettable q^q^ ^ appear tO CaSUal iuspCCtion 

 absence of seaweed. . 11 ■■ • 1 c .11 



smgularly devoid ot vegetable 

 growth so important biologically, as shelters and 

 sources of fish food, as well as economically ; so far as I 

 have seen, there is, speaking generally and in the absence 

 of submarine investigation by dredging, etc., no such 

 valuable growths in these seas except in the compara- 

 tively restricted area of reefs and rocks. In Japan the 

 seaweed industry, besides its vast biological importance, 

 yields products worth some 60 lakhs per annum exclu- 

 sive of the large amount consumed by the 900,000 

 families of fishermen ; food, vegetable isinglass, iodine, 

 manure are largely obtained from Japanese algse. The 

 subject is of such importance th.it it will be closely 

 examined herealter. 



34. Again, while the south-west monsoon does not 



wholly stop fishing, it forms practi- 

 Close season afioraed ^^^|| ^ ^j^,.^ season of four montlis 



by south west monsoon ; . , t i i i- 



durmg which hsh are but slightly dis- 

 turbed by man. The importance of this is obvious ; for 

 instance, the sardine and mackerel — the great shoaling 

 fishes of the West Coast — spawn in June and July, i.e., at 

 the beeinnino- of the monsoon ; according to the fishermen 



