XXX11 



caught. It cannot, however, be said that even this has been accurately 

 defined, but whenever a dispute has arisen between the Mahanas and the 

 farmers, it has been ruled by the Revenue authorities that one-third of 

 the fish was the limit of the latter's right. This third has never, so 

 far as he is aware, been levied direct. The fishery revenue of the 

 Kurachi Collectorate for a cycle of five years ending 1870-71 has aver- 

 aged, for ordinary fish, i. e., dhand fishing, Rs. 13,593-6-0; f or pulla 

 fish, i. e.j river fishing in the Indus, Rs. 20,746-10-9 per annum. 



55. The Collector of Haidarabad (May 27th, 1871) replied, that 



numbers of breeding fish, the pulla, are des- 

 Collectorate ; its troyed from February to August in the Indus. 

 Capturing these herrings, however, will not 

 decrease their numbers if there are no weirs in rivers, and they can 

 ascend to their breeding grounds. The fry of other sorts of fish 

 are, however, met with in the shallow lakes of water left in many 

 places, and are consumed by the people; these form but a minute 

 portion of what the great river must always contain; and, more- 

 over, as all such lakes, termed 'dhands/ dry up, these fish, if left, 

 would die; consequently their consumption is not hurtful. It is not 

 advisable to regulate the size of the mesh by law : firstly, because 

 no necessity exists, secondly, because of the difficulty there would be in 

 carrying out such rules, if made. For the same reasons the sale of the 

 fry of fish should not be prohibited. The fisheries in this Collectorate 

 consist, firstly, of the Indus itself ; secondly of tanks or dhands ; and 

 Government has a prescriptive right to a share of all these, ranging 

 according to custom, from one-third to one-fifth. Private rights in these 

 fisheries have also been long settled and prescribed by custom. The 

 fishermen almost always belong to, and fish in, the limits of their own 

 ' meanees' or fisheries : and even on the river Indus, no fisherman is 

 allowed to encroach on the limits of a fishery to which he does not belong. 

 The farmers arrange with the fishermen as to the payments to them, 

 representing the Government shares. As regards fisheries in jaghir lands, 

 unless the sunnud contains a special grant, the produce of such is credited 

 to local funds, and is not enjoyed by the jaghirdar. 



56. In the Haidarabad Collectorate the native officials compute the 



fishermen at 3,230 ; they are also almost inva- 



Opinions of native officials in riabl cu l tivators O f the goil and labourers, 

 the Haidarabad Collectorate. mi t> n i , -* T ^ 



The common name or fishermen is f Manana, 



but others who are not actual fishermen, as the ( Khebranees/ use the 

 hand-nets in canals. The markets are well supplied with fish in the 

 season of the pulla, and during the remaining five months, only those in 

 the neighbourhood of the lakes or tanks obtain it. The whole popula- 

 tion, Mussulmen and Hindu, except Brahmins, are eaters of fish, the sup- 

 ply of which is as abundant as ever, whilst Sind being in a rainless zone, 

 young fish are not captured during the rainy season. The following are 

 the usual modes of fishing : " koondee," hook and line ; " yar," a cast 

 net ; " matlee/-* a pulla pot ; " sumbokee;" a pulla net ; " bhun," a cast 

 net used from a boat ; " korree/' a basket net, besides fishing stakes 

 and weirs. 



