PROTECTIVE LEGISLATION FOR INDIAN FISHERIES. 644 



heed not, even a stone does not move them. Such fish readily fall a prey to 

 the professional fishermen. They are too heavy, as a rule, for such nets as 

 he possesses, so that, if neither dynamite or poison are employed, the most 

 approved method in such cases is clubbing. A gang of men enter the 

 water and drive the fish to the shallops above or below the pool. Here, the 

 river being at its lowest, it is a simple matter to knock the fish over with 

 clubs. It was by these methods that one of the best reaches in the Poonch, 

 most famous of Indian rivers, was almost completely denuded of fish a few 

 winters ago, so much so, indeed, that even the native administration of 

 Kashmir was at length compelled to take measures to preserve the few 

 remaining fish. 



Such are a few of the methods of destruction adopted. The result of 

 those methods is every day becoming more apparent. The decrease in the 

 fresh water fish supply, which was noticed thirty years ago by such authorities 

 as Day and Thomas, has continued to become more marked until now from 

 almost every part of India the same story is forthcoming. Famous rivers well 

 nigh destitute of fish, fewer fish on sale in the markets, higher prices for those 

 offered. And looking to the methods employed, and which have been briefly 

 described, can there be any wonder that the supply so steadily diminished ? 

 It may be said that from time immemorial the natives of India have been 

 accustomed to catch their fish in the manner indicated. This looks plausibl e 

 enough at first, but will not stand examination. The principal breeding 

 grounds for the river fish of Northern India are the streams within the hilis. 

 Now, before the roads and railways which we constructed had opened out 

 Upper India, there were probably few places more difficult to get to 

 than the small side valleys of the Himalaya. Consequently, the profession 

 of fisherman hardly existed within the hills in those days. Men killed 

 large numbers of fish, no doubt, by the primitive and expensive methods 

 already described ; but there was no outside market for these, and consequently 

 only an occasional slaughter was necessary in order to supply the scanty local 

 demand. But to-day all this is changed. Roads and railways have brought 

 many of the breeding grounds within easy reach of lucrative markets. Fish 

 are caught during a winter's day, a dozen miles or so by camel brings them 

 to the railway, and in six hours they can be on sale in the bazaars of Lahore 

 or Amritsar. The demand for fish is increasing too. Whether this is due 

 to an increased standard or comfort in living which some observers have 

 remarked, or whether the spread of the ubiquitous Bengali — a fish-eater par 

 excellence — is responsible for this it is difficult to say. But the fact remains 

 that the high prices offering tempt; men to pursue the business of fish slaughter 

 ever further and further afield. Gangs now not infrequently exploit streams 

 far remote from their own homes, greatly to the annoyance of the local 

 natives. Some of the streams near Rawal Pindi were thus cleared of fish a 

 few years ago by a horde of professional netters from Jhelum. Similarly 

 the streams in the native state of Sirmur, near to Simla, were for years 



