cxv 



CENTRAL PROVINCES. 



24rj. It, appears from the following reports, that in ilio 19 tehsilg 

 Tlip iiiiijnriiy of tlio pooplo ill fioin wlilcli nnswcrs Imvc Iiccu received, in 



tlie Cciitnil I'loviuces niny cat four GO per CCIlt. of the Jicopio eat fish, ill 



*"*''• eiglif. fioni 50 to 75 jicr cent., in three from 



80 to 00 per cent., and in four upwards of 90 per cent. 



210. Whether the markets are sufficicntli) supplied? is thus answered 

 ,, , , , ... b\' 20 tehsildars, as sufncicutlv so in 8, iu- 



" sulhcicntly m 12. 



217. Respecting toheiher the amount of fish in the waters has in- 

 creased, decreased, or remained slationarv ? 

 AVliothcr the fish in the „„,„•] i i i i ,• ■ / 



«atcrs have increased or dccreaa. ?C^"» consider it to be stationary, m two 

 ed. it appears doubtiul, whilst nine report a 



decrease. 



248. llesjiecting the number of fishermen S" they arc given at 80,928, 



but the women and children beloneinar to 



FisheriTicn, as a rule, have ii, • r t • i i i i c H 



other occupations. their families are included by some of the 



tehsildars; one evidently adds in those who 



used to he fishermen, as he remarks that " many have censed to 



follow their original occupation, owing to the demand for well-paid labor 



d('velo])rd by the r.iilway." Out of these persons, all are said to follow 



of her oeeu[)ations, with the exception of 200 persons in the Upper Godave- 



ri district. 



249. The opinion appears to be unanimous, that breeding fish are 



„,.„,, , , , destroyed to a large extent by fixed nets, by 

 Breeding fish how destroyed. • • i i • ,■ !^ 



'' ■' weirs spanning whole rivers, arresting them 



whilst they are ascending to breed, especially at a little prior to the 



commencement of the monsoon, and likewise slopping their downward 



progress as they return to the larger rivers; by traps in irrigated fields, 



capturing them as they try to reach good spawning grounds; by netting 



in every possible way the pools in the rivers in the dry season, and by 



poisoning the waters. Various forms of traps, nets, &c., are also emjiloyed. 



250. Fry appear to be destroyed to a great extent when just 



moving about, and in every iiossible way. 



Fry destroyed wholesale. y\ / i m I i ii i j i- ■ 



•' •" Due tehsildar computes the destruction in 



his district alone at 25,000 mauiids (2 millions of pounds), and the 

 tehsildar of Nursingpur says, that " it is to this wholesale destruction 

 of the small fish that the fish have decreased." Traps of fine split 

 bamboos appear to be placed at every outlet in irrigated fields, and 

 net ting is carried on universally, as well as the use of dams, weirs, and 

 poison. 



