XXXV 



reporters asserts an increase, whilst two-thirds of the remainder consider 

 the supply to have decreased. 



64. Whose are these fisheries? is a question for consideration. With 



some very immaterial exceptions, the whole of 

 The fisheries mostly Gov- thoge in the {^ an( [ wa ters of the Bombay 



eminent property. -r. • n j i j_i em 



J Presidency appear to be the property or Gov- 



ernment, which, however, for many years at least, has not disposed of the 

 same, but permitted the adjacent villagers to capture the fish in any 

 method which has best suited their convenience ; so that every poaching- 

 practice known is freely carried on without check. In Nasik the people 

 adjacent to fisheries consider them as their property, not to the exclusion 

 of Government rights, but as against strangers netting these waters. 

 Also in certain places there are religious objections raised against cap- 

 turing fish, by the Brahmins, either on account of the sacred character of 

 the locality or else of certain of the species of fish inhabiting a given 

 piece of water, and which are fed in honour of a Hindu idol. The sup- 

 ply of fish from the rivers and tanks having thus been shown to have 

 decreased in these Government fresh-water fisheries, the next question is, 

 how has this injury to the fisheries been occasioned ? This may be examin- 

 ed under the following heads : — First, who are the fishermen ? secondly, 

 are mature breeding fish destroyed, and if so, how? and lastly, are the fiy 

 killed to any great extent when they are first moving about in the shal- 

 low waters ? 



65. Who are the fishermen ? is the first enquiry, and is fishing con- 



fined to any distinct class of the people, or is 

 Fishermen as a rule follow it general ? In answering this question, one 



other occupations as well, & . , . . °, u j, . , 



official, in summing up the answers or the 

 mamlutdars, includes " women and children'" amongst the 1,000 " fisher- 

 men :" these numbers will consequently not find a place in the following 

 analysis, but it seems to show that fishing in Sholapur is not confined to 

 one class. In Ahmenabad the question is not answered. In Khandeish 

 the number of fishermen is given at 23,600, Nasik 4,000, Ahmednuggur 

 2,000 to 3,000, Puna 800, Satara from 5 to 700 in each talooka, Kaladgi 

 400, Belgaum 435, Dharwar 17,393, exclusive of two talookas in which 

 the numbers are omitted. Besides these, during the rains, many of the 

 labouring- population join in. Pew, if any, of the foregoing, numbering 

 upwards of 50,000, are solely engaged in fishing, but they also follow other 

 occupations. In fact, there appear to be very few persons indeed who 

 live solely by capturing fresh-water fish. 



GG. Are mature breeding fish destroyed, and, if so, how ? Every Col- 

 lector who has answered this question (except 

 pSSSr '""• ° f Kaladgi) considers they are destroyed ; but 



as the native official of the Inch ialooka of 

 the Kaladgi Collectorate reports that fish are trapped there during the 

 rains, it becomes evident that breeding fish do not even obtain an 

 immunity there. The principal and easiest mode of taking breeding 

 fish, is by placing wicker traps during the rains in the small streams and 

 irrigation channels up which they ascend for the purpose of depositing 

 their eggs. Where ' well-irrigation' is employed, there would not be any 

 opportunity for breeding fish to ascend into such irrigation channels, 

 and in these districts of course this mode of taking fish is not employed, 



