ecu 



size of the mesh of nets and the distances between the substances 

 forming- weirs : — " There are in inland lakes and rivers upwards of a 

 dozen kinds of fish (these are generally the most numerous and plentiful) 

 that wonld pass through nets and weirs of that size, and would be lost to 

 the fishermen. These small fish are used in the manufacture of ngapee." 

 If not taken by man, it is suggested they will be by water-fowl, and a great 

 loss of fish and revenue must result. They proposed as follows : — " The 

 use of weirs across all streams and channels not included in fisheries is strictly 

 prohibited, provided that this shall not apply to weirs of not more than 

 30 feet in length, or £ of the breadth of the stream or river in which 

 they are placed, whichever may be the shorter, when such weirs are used 

 solely for the purpose of catching prawns/'' * * " Several fisheries in the 

 province, if the use of dams is prohibited, cannot be worked. The 

 Committee are quite aware that the use of dams is often injurious 

 to paddy crops, in so far that at present streams get gradually filled 

 up by them, and in consequence crops are inundated/'' They pro- 

 posed that, in exceptional cases, they should be allowed, but not 

 to be erected prior to January 1st, and to be removed by April 15th in 

 each year. The Government of India (August 6th, 1872) decided with 

 reference to a mesh of 4 inches in circumference : — " His Excellency 

 the Governor Genei'al in Council is disposed to doubt whether this is 

 not too small, and whether a mesh of \\ inches from knot to knot, or 

 5 inches in circumference, would not be preferable/' The Officiating 

 Secretary to the Chief Commissioner (August 29th ; 1872) observed : — 

 " The Chief Commissioner agrees in the views expressed by the Commis- 

 sioner of the Tenasserim Division, who has given the subject great attention, 

 and has personally discussed the question of the size of the mesh 

 frequently with Mr. Eden. There is, I am to say, no occasion in the 

 present condition of the population to take any such measures for the 

 preservation of fish as will involve serious interference with the people. 

 It is impossible to have establishments to prevent the people taking fish 

 fry in the creeks and paddy-fields, and if they were not caught, they 

 would be eaten by birds, or die as the waters recede. The supply of fish 

 throughout the country is ample, and indeed in the Tenasserim Division 

 this year, fish is so cheap as to make the fisheries unremunerative. The 

 great article of consumption in Burma is ngapee, which is made from 

 young fish mixed with other fish. The Chief Commissioner had this 

 year ordered that the meshes of nets should be not less than 1 inch, 

 and the consequence was such unwillingness to buy the fisheries that 

 the rule had to be altered." 



381. The Commissioner of Arakan, Colonel J. F. J. Stevenson, 



(July 22nd, 1872,) remarks, that in the 

 Offic^t 11 ' °P inionofEuropean report from the Deputy Commissioner 



of Akyab, he has revised the original text 

 in three or four passages and also given marginal notes. The 

 Deputy Commissioner of Akyab observes that " breeding-fish are de- 

 stroyed to some extent. Very young ones are also caught for 

 consumption. Shrimps are taken from October to May, the greater 

 portion of which is used in making ngapee." T" It will be borne 

 in mind that we have no ' eeng ' (tank) fisheries in Arakan ; no 

 leased fisheries whatever, only a tax on nets." J. F. J. S.J 



