FISH 



Bombay Duck 



FISHEEIES OF INDIA 



River- fish. 



Mahasir. 



Bilsa. 



Ruhu or Rui. 



Shark- 

 fins. 



Oil. 



Shagreen. 



gives, for example, a useful sketch of the fisheries and trade in fish on the 

 Irrawaddy. 



CHIEF INDIAN FISH AND FISHERIES. The following are some of 

 the more important aspects of the fish supply of India, of fish products, and 

 of the special preparation of fish, met with in Indian commerce : 



1. "BOMBAY DUCK" OR BUMMELO FISH, This is the fish JUirpoaon 

 iu-iK'1-cttn (Day, I.e. i., 412), known in the vernacular as nehare, bumalo, cucah 

 sawdhri, coco mottah, luli, etc. It is common in the seas and estuaries of India, 

 more especially Bombay. It is highly esteemed as food when eaten immediately 

 after being caught. Since it rapidly goes bad, it is at once salted and subse- 

 quently sun-dried, and in that condition alone is known to most people. It is the 

 relish served with curries that bears the name " Bombay Duck " a quaint and 

 obscure name that has an analogy in " Digby chicks." Boswell (Tour to the 

 Hebrides, 1773) compares the Bombay ducks to the sun-dried whitings of 

 Aberdeenshire, known as " Speldings." 



2. FRESH-WATER FISH. It would occupy much space to mention all the 

 fish of this class that might be regarded as worthy of interest. A special feature 

 of Indian rural life, and one that is capable of considerable improvement, is the 

 rearing of fish in tanks, an industry already briefly alluded to. Tanks are 

 necessities of life in large tracts of country in order to supply water, and that they 

 are utilised as sources of edible fish is not only natural and economical but essential 

 to the purity of the water. A large number of the Indian fresh- water fish naturally 

 frequent backwaters of j the rivers ; in other words are not averse to live in 

 tanks. This has led to the traffic already mentioned of catching and selling 

 live fry with which to stock tanks that are even remote from the rivers. The 

 following are some of the better known river-fish, many of which can be reared 

 in tanks : A.nnint* *<-<m<ienn (Day, I.e. ii., 367), the Climbing Fish or coi, sennal, 

 nga-pri, haruan, etc. ; these are often carried alive by the boatmen of the Ganges, 

 being killed and cooked as required. They may be kept alive for a long time in 

 damp earthen pots and thus conveyed to a distance. -6tt, the Carp : various 

 species, especially JR. n ram* (Day, I.e. i., 300), the sarana or durhie, and JB. tov 

 (I.e. i., 307), the mahasir ; most highly prized of sport-giving fish and found 

 in hill streams. 1tatul^^s boia (I.e. i., 352), the trout of Indian streams. 

 Catia imfhanani (I.e. i., 287), largely employed for stocking tanks in Bengal, 

 United Provinces and Panjab. ciupen iHniiti (I.e. i., 376), the sable or Tiilsa, a 

 sea-fish that passes up most of the rivers of India and Burma, and is one of the 

 most important of the fresh-water fishes. isutvo&iientHy* vacim (I.e. i., 128), 

 the bassa of Assam, is found in most of the larger rivers of India. iMbeo (I.e. i., 

 256), the Kalban fish: several species are common in the rivers and much used 

 for stocking tanks, such as L. caibasu (I.e. i., 259), Panjab, Sind, Kach, Deccan, 

 etc., MJ. at, a inn (I.e. i., 261), the cursa, much used in the United Provinces, Bengal, 

 Orissa, Ganjam and Kistna. fc. roiiHn (I.e. i., 262), the ruhu or rui, an excellent 

 fish, and accordingly carefully propagated in the tanks of Bengal. opMocevimiu* 

 (I.e. ii., 360) : several species of the so-called Walking Fish or Murral, such as 

 o. lint-en (I.e. ii., 361); may be carried in damp vessels for great distances, sold 

 alive, and cooked as required, o. inaruiiiis (I.e. ii., 360) and o. striatus (I.e. ii., 

 363) are excellent for stocking tanks. Pseuaeni >oj*i* /vm/. /<< (I.e. i., 138), Poona 

 and Deccan. Rita imchnnani (I.e. i., 165), found in the Jumna, Ganges and 

 Irrawaddy, is valuable for its capability of retaining life long subsequent to the 

 removal from water. 



3. FISH-MA WS AND SHARK-FINS : ISINGLASS. The trade in these articles is 

 a fairly ancient one. Milburn (Or. Comm., 1813, i., 109, 283) makes reference to 

 them. " Fish-maws," he says, " are an article of trade from various parts of 

 China, where they are much esteemed." So again, " Shark-fins are an article 

 of trade from the Arabian and Persian Gulfs and from thence to China ; they 

 are esteemed very strengthening by the Chinese." " They are likewise prepared 

 on the Malabar and Coromandel Coasts and many of the islands in the Indian 

 Ocean." The commercial products given as the title of this paragraph are not, 

 however, the only products afforded by the group of fish placed in this position. 

 The flesh (especially of the young) is often valued as an article of food ; the fins 

 are employed in making jellies and soups, mainly by the Chinese ; the livers afford 

 an oil, which when carefully prepared (more especially of certain species) is spoken 

 of as a useful substitute for cod-liver oil ; and the skin of most species is made into 

 the substance known as SHAGREEN. The group of fish here indicated might be 



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