138 MADRAS FISHERIES BULLETIN VOL. Xl, 



In regard to white attai, evisceration prior to boiling while 

 desirable is not absolutely necessary ; in the case of the black 

 kind it is essential because whereas the former eviscerate through 

 the vent during the boiling process, the black ones if not eviscerated 

 by slitting open, burst irregularly midway along their length, 

 eviscerate through this opening and end by drying in contorted and 

 ugly shapes. If slit open for a short distance from the posterior 

 end, the viscera come out freely and when subsequently boiled 

 the animal does not contort, but remains straight and natural 

 looking. 



The only localities on the mainland of India where commercial 

 kinds of beche-de-mer are available or can be fished are Palk Bay 

 and the south Ramnad coast. On the Malabar coast the bottom 

 is too muddy, while on the Coromandel coast the absence of a 

 diving element in the fisher population would prohibit it, even 

 were beche-de-mer to occur in quantity there, a point not at present 

 ascertained. 



But if the prolific mainland area be restricted, there is consider- 

 able prospect of the insular region of the Laccadives proving worth 

 attention and exploitation. When I was at Kiltan atoll in 1908, I 

 found the islanders preparing small quantities and judging from, 

 this fact and by analogy in regard to the faunistic character of the 

 great reef-flats of Bitra, Cherbaniani, Perumal and Byramgore with 

 Polynesian reefs where beche-de-mer is very abundant, it is desir- 

 able that Government should take an early opporunity of having this 

 region explored thoroughly by officers of the Fisheries Department 

 with a view to test the potentialities of this archipelago in regard 

 not only to general fishing development and to this product in 

 particular, but also in respect of mother-of-pearl-producing shells 

 as green snaW (Turbo), trocas {Troc hits), and even the true pearl- 

 oysters {Margaritifera spp.). 



As the method employed in the Laccadives is different from 

 that followed in Palk Bay and Ceylon, it will be useful to put the 

 particulars on record of what I learnt during my visit to the islands 

 in 1908. So far as I could learn the industry had then but recently 

 been introduced. I was informed indeed that it had been brought 

 to the attention of the islanders only three years before by a 

 Cannanore Mappilla who stayed in the island for some time super- 

 vising the collection and curing of the product. As taught by this 

 man the process is carried on as follows. 



