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The Marine Fisheries of the Madras Presidency.* 



The Marine Fisheries of the Madras Presidency 

 while of considerable present value, have much greater 

 possibilities. The coast line of some 1,700 miles, ex- 

 clusive of indentations, necessarily provides work for a 

 large number of families, and food for many more, but 

 the whole industry is still in a primitive condition ; 

 boats in general are either the catamaran (logs tied 

 together) or the duQf-out canoe ; the area of fishing is 

 limited to a distance not generally exceeding 5 or 6 

 miles from shore and 6 to 8 fathoms in depth ; the nets 

 and lines worked by such boats are necessarily of com- 

 paratively small power ; and the duration of each voyage 

 is but a few hours, usually by day but in some localities 

 and seasons at night also. Curing methods are as 

 primitive as the boats, being practically confined to 

 saltine and sun dryino- under conditions which render 

 the product unacceptable to ordinary tastes and probably 

 deleterious to health. Business organization is similarly 

 crude, and the oreneral ignorance of most of the fishino^ 

 and even of the curing classes, is profound. The in- 

 dustry is, in a way, suited to physical conditions ; where 

 the surf is heavy, harbours few, and the open sandy 

 beach the only landing place as along the East Coast 

 generally, the catamaran is invaluable since it is unsink- 

 able, can readily and safely be taken through the surf, 

 the logs untied and carried up the beach ; each separate 

 log is also thoroughly disinfected by its alternate immer- 

 sion and insolation. It would be almost impossible in 

 most places habitually to beach large heavy boats capa- 

 ble of fishing in the open sea ; the surf boats used for 

 seinino- and cargo work are mere inshore vessels of 

 light timbers sewn together, and are not adapted for 

 fishing. On the West Coast where for 8 or 9 months 

 the sea is calm, the dug-out canoe provides a fairly 

 useful boat, which, with care, lasts for many years, but 

 is in no sense anything but a fair weather boat. 



Again, these boats, tackle, and methods have not 

 been ill-suited to past economic conditions ; in the 

 absence of good roads and rapid communications, 

 catches of fish much larger than could supply the wants 



* Read at the Lahore Industrial Conference, 1909. 

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