XXXV 



roporters asserts an incronsc, whilst two-thirds of the remainder consider 

 tlio sn|)])ly to ha\'e dccroased. 



(it. ir/iose are these fisheries F is a question for consideration. Wilh 

 some very immaferial exceptions, tlie whole of 

 The fislioHea mostly Gov- ^|,„j,g jjj ^]jq i„,„^j waters of tlie Bombay 

 erumcnt property. t. ■ t i i ji i r r^ 



Presulenry ap]5oar to be tlic projiorty or (jov- 

 ernmcnt, which, however, for many years at least, has not disj)o.scd of the 

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

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

 practice known is freely carried on without cheek. 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 jilaccs tlicre are religious objections raised against caj)- 

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

 tfie locality or else of certain of the species of fish iidiabiting 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-wat«r (isherics, the next question is, 

 flow has (his injury to the fisheries been occasioned ? Tiiismaybe examin- 

 ed under the following heads: — -First, vi\w Vixa the fisliermcii ? secondly, 

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

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

 low waters ? 



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



fined to any distinct class of the people, or is 

 Fishermen ns a rule follow j^ p-eneral ? In answering this question, one 



otlier occupntions as well. .p . , . . f, ^ p ,i 



ofiicml, in summing up tlie answers ot tlie 

 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, Ahmednuggiir 

 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. Few, if any, of the foregoing, numliering 

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

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

 live solely i)y cajitiiriiig frcsli-wator fish. 



66. Are mature breeding fish destroyed, and, if so, hoio ? Every Col- 



lector who has answered this question (exeejit 

 Mature hroedinp fish nre trap- f Kaladgi) considers thev are destroyed ; but 



Itcd nud otherwise lulleu. ,, 7.' „• • 1 c i'l i i- rn'i 1 <■ 



as the native ofiicial ot tlie Indi lalooica ot 

 the Kaladgi Collectorate reports that fish are trapped there during the 

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

 immunity tlicrC. The principal and easiest mode of taking breeding 

 fisli, is by ])]acing wicker traps during the rains in the small streams and 

 irrigation channels up which they ascend for tlie ])urpose of de])ositing 

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

 oi)[)ortunity for breeding fisli to ascend into such irrigation channels, 

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



