( 70 ) 



an inch. As the river begins to clear, in places where 

 large fish may still be taken in the plains, the distance 

 between the knots often reaches one inch, whilst in the dry 

 season even a greater rnesh becomes employed. In localities 

 as Burma, excluding the free fisheries, still larger meshes are 

 used ; likewise in Sind, where such would be considered an 

 unwise procedure, but it will be found to be carried on else- 

 where throughout the length and breadth of the plains, 

 except where there is a lessee, whose interests would be 

 affected thereby. 



LXXIII. Were the minimum size of the mesh of the net 

 Effect of regulating the mini- regulated, could such be a secondary 



mum size of the mesh of nets. cause of injury to fisheries ? Mr. 



Thomas, in his excellent report on the fisheries of South 

 Canara, observes — the forbidding the use of a mesh of less than 

 four inches in diameter would be unfortunate, as " the smaller 

 sorts of fish, having an immunity from netting, must dispro- 

 portionately increase on the larger netted sorts. Nature has 

 arranged that the larger predatory fish shall balance the 

 smaller, and thus maintain due proportions, but if one sort 

 is netted by man and the other sort has immunity, the ba- 

 lance is disturbed, and the larger fish are no longer able to 

 maintain their position." The Madras "Revenue Board 

 (Proc, July 13th, 1871), in their report on the foregoing, ob- 

 serve of the small fish : — " If a minimum of four inches be 

 adopted, this quantity of fish will be, without any compen- 

 sating advantage, entirely lost to the fish-eating population : 

 further, the natural balance amongst the fishy tribes will 

 be disturbed by killing only large fish, while the smaller kinds, 

 which largely preponderate, are allowed by artificial protection 

 to increase to an extent which must eventually cause certain 

 kinds to disappear altogether." Now, I cannot coincide in this 

 belief ; I think it to be incorrect, and the proofs adduced, accu- 

 rate as doubtless they are, may not be analogous to the state of 

 affairs in India. I will, therefore, first examine this question 

 theoretically, and secondly, give the result of actual expe- 

 rience in this country. It is a self-evident fact that amongst 

 fish in the East, as in the other divisions of the animal 

 kingdom, the forms which prey upon their neighbours are 

 proportionately greater than in more temperate regions : 

 Nature is on a vaster scale, but a few examples will make 

 my meaning plainer. The wild-cat of Scotland is represent- 

 ed by the tiger and cheetah : the species of eagles and 



