PRODUCTS OF THE SEA — EXPLOITATION AND UTILIZATION 193 



of three to four and operate on single day journeys. Larger crafts 

 carry from eight to ten persons and stay at sea for four to five days. 

 Sometimes larger vessels stay away from ports for longer periods. In 

 such cases the catch is salted on board and the vessels move every third 

 or fourth day to convenient spots on the shore for drying the salted 

 fish. 



In addition to the local operations with country crafts, the Gov- 

 ernment's experimental trawler 'ALA' has been operating in the waters 

 off the coast of West Pakistan. 'ALA' is 80 feet long and has a gross 

 tonnage of 81.24. She has a steel hull, and a Ruston diesel engine of 

 150 B.H.P. The fish hold is refrigerated and has a capacity of 30 tons. 

 The trawler employs a Peter Carey trawl, 75 feet long. The operations 

 of the trawler has not extended beyond the 30-fathom line. 



The Trawler has made a number of trips. The results so far have 

 not been encouraging. Although the tropical waters are known not to 

 be rich in bottom fauna, the possibilities of trawling in these waters 

 cannot be ascertained until after exhaustive surveys. The operations 

 of 'ALA' are limited both in seasonal and geographical co-ordinates for 

 the purpose of any conclusions. 



The gears commonly employed in Pakistan are (1) fixed or stake 

 nets, (2) boat seines, (3) beach seines, (4) drift and gill nets, (5) cast 

 nets, (6) traps and weirs, and (7) hooks and lines. Non-searching type 

 of a gear, e.g. stake nets, drift and gill nets, are numerically predom- 

 inant and their total catch is more than that of the searching gear. Of 

 the latter group, the boat seines are most important. These nets catch 

 sardines, herrings, drums, croakers and threadfins, depending on size 

 and mesh. 



The nets are prepared by hand, using mostly cotton, occasionally 

 hemp, and nylon whenever it is available. Net preservation practices 

 consist of their treatment with lime and occasionally with extracts of 

 some indigenous barks. 



The crafts and gears are not mechanized. This severely restricts 

 the fishing operations in their range along seasonal and geographical 

 co-ordinates. 



Capital: A reliable estimate of capital invested in the primary 

 industry is not available yet. Preliminary figures place it anywhere from 

 10-12 million rupees (3-4 million U.S. dollars). Of this nearly 55 per- 

 cent is invested in crafts and the rest is invested in gears and as recur- 

 ring expenditure. Capital in Pakistan is noted for its shyness; on the 

 other hand, the manipulations of the middlemen place impediments to 

 the flow of fresh capital in the fisheries industry. 



Economics and organisation: The number of owner-operators who 

 work alone as single units is negligible. Some outfits are operated by 



