ccxxxv 



linvo flio meslios so siiinll (lint iiolliinq' wlinlcvcv rnii oponjic i.liom, nnd, 

 iis (lsliiii<^ t^^dcs oil nil tlio yoav loiiiul, iiiiinonst' luiinliciR oC siiinll (isli iiro 

 tl('sfi()3C(i lout'' liclbrc tlicy i-iui coiiio to ninl.urily." The fisliiiig calcs 

 are Kcwiils, Glioonas, Mains, Bag'toi's, and Ilarccs: llio supply of (ish 

 is very limited, except in tlic immediate vicinity of large rivers niid n 

 few reservoirs, but; it is not at all adequate to meet tlic wants of tlio 

 people : iu some parts of tlie dist.riet tlie rise of fish is almost mikiiowii, 

 and there are no waters to propa.g.ato them. " In other jiarts, if fishiiig 

 were prohihited during' the hreeding season, and the use of net with 

 meshes below a certain size finbidden, there is no donlit the siijiply of 

 fish would increase, and much good l)e done by adding to the fpiantily 

 of this very valuable description of food, which would tlius bo made 

 available to the ])eoi)le at large." " Fish is not largely consumed by the 

 ])coplc of this district, simply from the fact of its not being obtainable 

 in sullicienfc (juantities, and none, cither salted or dried, is ever im])orted, 

 whilst exportation is, of course, quite out of the question. The stocking 

 of tanks and reservoirs with young fisli is common, and is rendered 

 necessary by the majority of the tanks and reservoirs running dry, 

 or so nearly dry, in tlie hot season, that all the fish are caught and 

 consumed, when a fresh liatcli has to bo introduced in order to ensure a 

 further supply, liut, beyond this, nothing is done for the purpose of 

 conserving it." 



4U9." The Officiating Cuinmissioner of the i'liiltagong Division 



(October 5th, 1872) forwards a single 

 Cl,?ul-or ""^ Europcni. omeiala of j.pport from the Collector of Nonl-hall;i, 

 "°'"^' who remarks that " breeding-fish and 



very 3'oung ones are dcstrnj'cd, but not to a great extent, in this district. 

 Tiie young ones are destroyed by the villagers in Ihlas, rivers, tanks, 

 ditches, and paddy-fields during the rainy season." The smallest size 

 mesh of the net used is one quarter of an inch ; discontent would be 

 caused by regulating such. Fry of fish are not sold iu the bazar, but 

 there would be difliculties preventing people catching it for their own 

 use. A close season would cause great inconvenience, and perhaps sick- 

 ness, whilst it would be almost imjiossible to enforce. There are C,310 

 fishermen in the district, more than two-thirds of wliom earn their 

 livelihood entirely by fishing. Nearly all villagers fish for their own 

 use; the Hindu fishing castes are Jiiliah, Das, and Jlifllo : the 

 Maliomedans, JMyforash. The local markets are not fully supplied 

 with fish; more might be sold; it is consumed to a large extent by 

 about fifteen-sixteenths of the population, in fact by all classes, even 

 by Hindu widows. Small fish are taken iu large quantities during 

 the rains; they are caught with nets, hooks, hoolias, open baskets, 

 and chdis, cages. Fish are trajipcd during the rains in inundated 

 fields. Spearing is one form of fishing which is employed. There 

 is no reason to suppose that the sujiply of fish is falling ofl": it is 

 neither salted nor dried, but some is imported from Sylliet and 

 ("hittagong; none is exported; tanks are stocked with fish. "In 

 the dry season fish die largely, owing to the water becoming 

 liot and very shallow : the only measure ado])ted ])y the people for flu; 

 jirolcction of fish is to put a shade over a part of the tank. It would 

 be well if some measures were adopted to deepen the tanks to a certain 



