No. 3 (1917) 



TUTICORIM FISHING INDUSTRY 



79 



Month. 



June 

 July 



August 

 September 



Total 



The chief species caught are Kathalai (Sciaena maculata), Kuru- 

 min (Pristipoma maculatiun), Kelakkan (Sillago sihamaj, Nagarai 

 (Upc)ieoidcs sppj. Kili (Tlicrapon piita), Kuthippii (Lactarius dclica- 

 tiihis) and Karal (Eqiuda spp. and Gazza spp J. 



The following table gives the quantities in pounds of the seven 

 principal fish caught by this method of fishing throughout the 

 year: — 



The bait used in this handline fishing consists almost ex- 

 clusively of Penseid prawns belonging to the three species Pcnacus 

 indicus, Penaeus carinatus and Penacus a^nis. The catching ( f this 

 bait is the special occupation of about 20 men who obtain it by a 

 small hand seine called Vangu valai, worked by two men. For- 

 merly the line fishermen often experienced much delay in obtain- 

 ing their supply of bait as they had to wait idle ashore each 

 morning till a sufficient supply had been caught by the Vangu 

 valai men. This delay is now largely avoided by the introduction 

 by this department of prawn store baskets, wherein prawns caught 

 overnight can be kept alive till required by the line fishermen. 



Trolling. — Until 1912 this fishery was in the hands of Sinhalese 

 fishermen who came across annually from Ceylon with their out- 

 rigger canoes or kullas, at the beginning of the north-east monsoon 

 and who returned home in March. The year named was character- 

 ized by an exceptionally severe outbreak of cholera in Tuticorin ; 

 this, combined with the restrictive quarantine measures adopted by 

 the Ceylon authorities ngainst passengers coming from Tuticorin, 



