Xl'lX 



ol' illidll fo (HK'-(,'if^li(li, oiu'-rinulli, IimU nil incli ii|i In one inch. ^VicluM'- 

 wuik lr;i[)s niul Iminboii laliyriiitli wciis aiipo.ir to Ijc griK'ially ctniiloycd, 

 ami the jwisoning of waU'r li^' toliacco ami other substances lor the jmr- 

 jiosc of obtaiiiiris' fish is reported 1)}' two Tehsiklars. 



186. Ill the Madura Colledorate the answers from tlic Tchsililars 

 „. . „ . „. . are mven as follows (May 17Ui, 1872). 



Oniinong of Nntivc olTicinls in riu c c • i r i 



tl,o Madura Collectornte. i'"''''^ ^''^ vciyfcw piofessioual fishermen 



ill the district, except m tlie town of 

 IMndura, but all have other occujiatioiis. The local markets in large 

 towns are not fully supjilied witii fisii, and at certain seasons they are 

 very scarce. During' tlie season the sujipfy in many villages is sufH- 

 eieiit, but more could always be sold in the larger towns; 80 per 

 cent, of the people cat fish. The amount in the waters has continued sta- 

 tionary of late years. Vciy small ones are caught in considerable quanti- 

 ties, chiefly in baskets. The minimum size of the meshes of nets is 

 about half an inch in circumference. Fish are not geuerall}' trapped in 

 inigatcd fields during the rains. They are caught in liaskets of two 

 kinds. In shallow water, when bmks are drying, they aic baled out in 

 various ways. 



187. In tlic Cuimbalorc Collectoralc, the rejilies from ten TeliHilthins 



are as follows : — Tlie lisliermcn, as a rule, 

 Opinions of Native officials in ,, „,^.,. occupations, (he ex.'cptions being 



the Coinibatore CollL'clorMte. . ^ •!• ■ i-n i , " 



that lO (amines in the IJiiarapuram talooka, 

 loo in the Perindorny talooka, only em]iloy themselves in (ishing, whilst 

 ill Coinibatiire !■'')(> (Islieinieii .'ilso ael- as palaiupiiii-bearers. The majority 

 of the people, exce[)ting lirahmiiis, Koiiiati<'s, Sivachars, and high-caste 

 Siidr.'is, eat (isli, flic amount, being estimated at 11, '57, 921' persons; it is 

 ]uefened fresh in seven talookas, it is immaterial in two; whilst in one it 

 is stated the llimlus prefer it fresh, the jMahomcdans salted. [The Act- 

 i II (J Collector (February 4'th, 1871) observed, " another point which I 

 think has been lost sight of, is, that the consumption of fresh fish by 

 tlie people of the country, as compared with that of salt-flsli, is exceed- 

 ingly small." But that such is a fad docs not appear to be coincided 

 with by the native officials. That it is more largely consumed may bo 

 a( times due to the absence of fresh-water fishes owing to the waste- 

 ful destruction which now appears to be existing, apparently due to an 

 absence of proper precautionary measures. J In one talooka tiic local 

 market is stated to be sufliciently siqiplied, in the remaining nine that 

 they are not so, or else that more could be disposed of if brought. The 

 amount of fish in the waters is said to have decreased in six talookas, 

 remained stationary in two, increased in one, and no definite answer is 

 given from the remaining Tehsildar. 'fiie meshes of the nets employed 

 appear to vary from one-eighth of an inch upwards; basket traps are re- 

 |)iir(ed as in use for fishing, and poisoning of the water in order to obtain 

 the fish as noted liy seven out of the ten Tchsildars. In Suttimiiiigaliini 

 it is observed of the Bhowany river that (ho fish die when the water is 

 mi.Ked with the mud to a largo extent as during the monsoons, and due 

 to this cause largo fish are scarce. This was also reported upon by ]\[r. 

 P. (jiaiit, a forniei Collector ; it also oeeurs in Malabar, and (he mixing 

 of mild with water is state<l to lie employed in order to I'aeililatc the 

 capture of fish. 



