ready market could be found for such a production. He points out that India 

 alone might provide a mrket for even larger quantities. 



Fishing Methods and gdJai.:aRient 



• Methods of fishing and types of gear used in Southern Iran are extremely 

 primitive. For the most part these are based on the natural movement of the 

 fish and consequently the equipment used is generally of station?^ry types In 

 som.e oases boats of one-half to one ton capacity are used. These are usually 

 propelled by oars or sails* 



The m.ost comiTion types of equipment used by southern fishermen are briefly 

 as f ollov/s : 



Drift Net or ^^Daam" - This is a stationary net devised to intercept size- 

 able Tish x¥hich, in attemipting to pass it, are caught by the gills. 



F is h -wei r or ^^Moshta" - The moshta is a trap made of palm branches and 

 vvorks on the principle of admiitting the fish on flood tide snd trapping them 

 on the ebb . 



Cage or ^^Ghafas" - A funnel- shaped statioriary trap Jnade of palm branches 

 and set in the sand v/ith its mouth facing the sea. Usually a series of these 

 traps are fitted togethero Fish enter this trap also. on flood tide. 



Seine W et or "Toor" - This, is the. coiiim on fish-net and is usually employed 

 in stiallow v^'ater. 



Hook and Line or '^Ghollab" - Baited hock and line are commonly used for 

 hand TTshing* 



Conimercial Fishery -Enterprises 



The total number of fishermen an the southern coast of Iran is estimated 

 at 8000. Merchants, in the several ports, usually contract with groups of 12 

 to 16 fishermen, furnishing them, the necessary equipm.ent. ^ For the use of such 

 equipm.ent the f ishermien deliver to the merchants 5^ percent of their catchy " 

 The renmining ^0 percent is divided equally among the fisherm.en except that the 

 crew captain or "lav-Khoda" usually receives t^vice as much as an ordinary fish- 

 ernmn* 



The only imxportant fish processing plant in Southern Iran is the Government 

 owned canning factory at Bandar Abbas., This plant wf s constructed in I9I4O by a 

 Danish company for the Iranian Government and began operations in 19i^.l. It is 

 a portable plant made of asbestos and is said to have a capacity of five tons 

 of fish per eight-hour shift. Under present management, however, the plant is 

 canning only sardines of which the average annual production is only about 5O-6O 

 metric tons. The sardines canned in this plant are packed in olive 'oil" produced 

 in Iran» . 



The Bandar Abbas plant is also equipped for oil extraction and the pro- 

 duction of fish flour. This equipm^ent has been used only once, hov;ever, since 

 its installation. About three years ago 11 tons of fish flour v/ere produced 



3 



