44 



and where, during the chief monsoon on each coast ? Are they hauled 

 up on the beach ; and if 50, how ? or, are they moored off-shore ; or, 

 are they brought into harbours or backwaters ? 



Nets. — Name, description with illustration, material, size (length, 

 breadth and depth), cost, modes of manufacturing (e.g., whether made 

 by fishermen or families or by machinery, whether in small pieces 

 joined together or large pieces), barking (including material, bark, 

 fruits, resins such as catechu, etc., used for barking, number of bark- 

 ings required and so forth), size of mesh (including the several sizes 

 of meshes used in a single net, as for instance in the " Odam " or 

 Mari) and the thickness of cordage used for various classes of fish ; 

 for what fish each class of net and size of mesh are usually used ; 

 mode of using each net — e.g., whether by one boat or two, whether by 

 simply dipping in the sea and raising as the " Odam " or by 

 perpendicular suspension with flotes (and weights), such as the 

 Tattu-vala and Ayiburlei ; whether they reach to the bottonij or are 

 used in midwater or near the surface ; in what way are the fish caught 

 in the net, e.g., whether by enmeshing, where head, gills, or body up 

 to che pectoral or dorsal fins are caught in the mesh (as in the Tattu- 

 vala and Ayiburlei), or by simple enclosure (as in the " Odam ") or 

 by enclosure in the bag (as in the " Kolli ") ; whether the net are 

 stationary nets or are dragged along in the sea ; whether any method 

 of frightening the fish into the net, such as the " Tattu-vala " of the 

 West Coast is used, or of attracting them by light or torches or other 

 means ; any objections raised by fisherman to the use of any nets • 

 whether fishermen usually own or have at their disposal, nets of 

 several classes, or whether each own only one sort of net ; how long 

 the several nets usually last if properly cared for ; whether the nets 

 are ever lost or destroyed by accident at sea ; how long the various 

 classes of nets have been known and used in the locality, whether 

 from time immemorial or only recently (within a few years, as for 

 instance, in certain localities on the West Coast) ; if recently, where 

 did they come from ? What reason is given by the fishermen for the 

 adoption of new forms of net (e.g., greater success of such nets, greater 

 demand for fish, etc.). Have the local fishermen ever tried any sorts 

 of nets other than those they now use ? if so, with what result ? and 

 why do they not now use them ? Are the fish caught in the nets 

 usually alive or dead when the nets are taken up ? {No/e. — ^In the 

 " drift net " or " gill nets " in which fish are caught by the gills in 

 the meshes, the fish are usually dead from suffocation, especially where 

 the nets are down for several hours without being examined, as in the 

 stationary nets put down in the evening and examined in the morning 

 at Mangalore ; this bears importantly on the question of their fresh- 

 ness when brought to shore.) 



Hooks and lines. — Class of line used, whether the long line with 

 many hooks suspended horizontally, such as the " Beppu " of 300 or 

 600 fathoms with hooks at each fathom or the ordinary hand lines ; 

 number of lines or hooks ordinarily carried by a boat ; their material. 

 How preserved against spoiling by the sea water, e.g., soaking or 

 boiling in oil, barking, etc. Size for various fish; mode of use, 

 whether anchored or moving ; maximum length of lines and maximum 

 depth at which they are used ; what bait is used ; whether any floats 

 to regulate the depth of the hooks are used ; what fishes are generally 



