PREFACE. 



T3ULLETIN No. I is an anachronism, being first by 

 designation only and not by date. When Bidletins 

 became a necessity for the record of important enquiries, 

 it was intended to gather together a few of the earUer 

 papers showing the origin of w^hat was, at first, a mere 

 investigation into the existing fishery industry of the 

 Presidency started in view to obtain data for assisting the 

 development of the indigenous industry. For various 

 reasons, however, the issue of No. I was delayed while 

 several contemporaneous Bulletins were issued with later 

 numbers, and as the work of investigation developed 

 No. I fell into oblivion. But since Government now 

 desire its issue and since administrative and industrial 

 changes are imminent, the belated Bulletin has been 

 compiled, and advantage has been taken of the delay to 

 make it, not a mere record of origin but, in a sense, a 

 history of the development of the investigation into a 

 Bureau or Department. Hence the Bulletin consists 

 almost solely of original papers in whole or in extract, 

 showing from 1905 to 191 5 the changes and develop- 

 ment of ideas, the proposals made from time to time, 

 and the orders passed thereon. It is hoped that this 

 conspectus of the past will provide useful help for the 

 future. 



It will be seen from the papers that the local enquiry 

 of 1905-06 largely gave way to enquiry by experiment 

 in 1907 and later years, and that the single aniateur 

 investigator of 1905 was strengthened, and, on main 



