XC1X 



of dholl to one-eighth, one-fourth, half an inch up to one inch. Wicker- 

 work traps and bamboo labyrinth weirs appear to be generally employed, 

 and the poisoning of water by tobacco and other substances for the pur- 

 pose of obtaining fish is reported by two Tehsildars. 



186. In the Madura Collector ate the answers from the Tehsildars 



are given as follows (May 17th, 1872). 



Opinions of Native officials in rni, c c ^ ^ ^ 



the Madura Collectorate. ?h ere are ver 7 few professional fishermen 



in the district, except in the town of 



Madura, but all have other occupations. The local markets in large 

 towns are not fully supplied with fish, and at certain seasons they are 

 very scarce. During the season the supply in many villages is suffi- 

 cient, l^it more could always be sold in the larger towns; 80 per 

 cent, of the people eat fish. The amount in the waters has continued sta- 

 tionary of late years. Very small ones are caught in considerable quanti- 

 ties, chiefly in baskets. The minimum size of the meshes of nets is 

 about half an inch in circumference. Fish are not generally trapped in 

 irrigated fields during the rains. They are caught in baskets of two 

 kinds. In shallow water, when tanks are drying, they are baled out in 

 various ways. 



187. In the Colmbatore Collectorate, the replies from ten Tehsildars 



are as follows : The fishermen, as a rule, 

 tave other occupations, the exceptions bein- 

 that 40 families in the Dharapuram talooka, 

 100 in the Perindoray talooka, only employ themselves in fishing, whilst 

 in Coimbatore 156 fishermen also act as palanquin-bearers. The majority 

 of the people, excepting Brahmins, Kornaties, Sivachars, and high-caste 

 Sudras, eat fish, the amount being estimated at 11,37,924 persons; it is 

 preferred fresh in seven talookas, it is immaterial in two ; whilst in one it 

 is stated the Hindus prefer it fresh, the Mahomedans salted. The Act- 

 ing Collector (February 4th, 1871) observed, " another point which I 

 think has been lost sight of, is, that the consumption of fresh fish by~ 

 the people of the country, as compared with that of salt-fish, is exceed- 

 ingly small/'' But that such is a fact does not appear to be coincided 

 with by the native officials. That it is more largely consumed may be 

 at times due to the absence of fresh-water fishes owing to the waste- 

 ful destruction which now appears to be existing, apparently due to an 

 absence of proper precautionary measures.] In one talooka the local 

 market is stated to be sufficiently supplied, in the remaining nine that 

 they are not so, or else that more could be disposed of if brought. The 

 amount of fish in the waters is said to have decreased in six talookas, 

 remained stationary in two, increased in one, and no definite answer is 

 given from the remaining Tehsildar. The meshes of the nets employed 

 appear to vary from one-eighth of an inch upwards ; basket traps are re- 

 ported as in use for fishing, and poisoning of the water in order to obtain 

 the fish as noted by seven out of the ten Tehsildars. In Suttimungalum 

 it is observed of the Bhowauy river that the fish die when the water is 

 mixed with the mud to a large extent as during the monsoons, and due 

 to this cause large fish are scarce. This was also reported upon by Mr. 

 P. Grant, a former Collector ; it also occurs in Malabar, and the mixing 

 of mud with water is stated to be employed in order to facilitate the 

 capture of fish. 



