Ixix 



boys sent out to fish wliosc duty it was to briiig home a daily siijiply for 

 llicir fiimilicR, (he size boiii<]f no object, and a sufTioicnt amount the only 

 criterion. Hunchcds of small fry are thus daily dcstioycd by the nets of 

 these little in-cliiiis, whilst the adult fishermen also assist in this work ofdes- 

 truetion. At Ilajahmuiidry, above the weir, the price offish in the bazar was 

 re[nitcd to have risen 1 00 per cent, in seven years, and a great decrease offish. 

 Here the fry and immature fish were being captured in myriads. At Comba- 

 conum I sent out some fishermen for two daj's to see what specimens they 

 eo\dd collect for me, and during that time they brought me upwards of 

 r),000 3'OHng fish, these being, as they stated, the finality they were cap- 

 luring in aud near tiic station. That the destruction of fry is carried on to 

 an excessive extent imistbc patent to the most casual observer wlio travels 

 during the monsoon months. It appeared to me that the principal reason 

 (or the decrease of fish, was that the fry were captured in excessive numbers 

 owing to tlie minuteness of the size of the meshes in nets; that irriga- 

 tion weirs and falls in canals arrested the ascent of breeding fish, which 

 were also trapped in irrigated fields and water-courses ; and lastly, that 

 indiscriminate fishing was disastrous. 



112. One ollicial (para. 158) having rem^irked upon my proposi- 



„, ,. . . tions, — "I believe any law regulating the 



Ouscrv.ntion on nn opinion . n ,< i i i i • !■ ■ n • 



Hint pinhibithig the (lostnictiori sizc of tlic mesli would be mojierative ni tins 



of fry by rcftulnting the mini- country; it, would be cruel to Ibo ])O0l' ]ieopIe 



u.mn size of the meshes of nets ,y|,„ j'j,. l,l,cinost part live on small fish," 



wonltl be crttel to the poor. t i i j i_i jj • i t f 



' I am unable to see the rruclhj m attempting 



to augment the food snp|)ly of the poorer classes. I have examined mag- 

 nilieent pieces of fresli-wafcr in the Madras Presidency not containing 

 sufficient fish fin- the few inhabitants along their banks. In largo dis- 

 tricts any one may fish in whatever way best suits his individual vicwSj 

 and ignorant natives, who never look beyond to-day's wants, take what 

 they are able irrespective of size, and fish where they please no matter 

 bow. As the large fish are cleared ofT, smaller meshed nets arc employed, 

 until at last the liy, as a rule, become the sized fish which are taken. 

 A statr of water bailiflTs would be expensive, but if fisheries are let, the 

 lessee becomes their keeper : his people the watchers. Self-interest would 

 never allow his permitting every little boy to have and use a net where- 

 with he is destroying the liy. It is sometimes rsserted that it would 

 lie liard on the poorer classes not to jiermit them to capture these little 

 wee fish : it seems to be thought that fish come of themselves, are not wcn-th 

 lirotecting when young, but should at all times be game in every maimer 

 to the whole of the population. I?ut how have these pscudo-philan- 

 thro[)ic views answered in practice? l5y decreasing the fish and con- 

 sequently diminishing the sujiply of food in whole districts. Thus, wlien 

 famine years come round the waters will be found dejiopulated, the 

 little fish have been eaten liy the poorer classes, and conse(juenlly 

 larger ones will be sought for in vain. I deny the |ihilanthropy of such 

 procecdings,biiton the contrary hold that i)iactieally,aUhongh unintention- 

 ally, when carried out, they will be found amongst the most r;7/c'/ in their 

 ell'ectsof anj- that could be devised. At first permitting any one and every one 

 to fish as they ]ilease, temporarily increases the quantity captured, but at 

 a ))erinat)ent injiny to the fishery, by decreasing future years' sujipl}', and, 

 if continued, almost annihilating them. Water should be as valuable as 



