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4 or 5 yards in the middle to allow boats to go through. 
Frequently, this gap is closed under water, so that fish are not 
able to move up or down stream unless they come very near 
to the surface at the gap and jump over the submerged barrier. 
Ilethod of Use : In order to catch such fish a net is fixed 
just outside the gap. At one end the two comers of the net 
are attached to long poles, and are suspended well above the 
water. Each of the other two comers is held by a man 
standing on a platform at the other side of the gap (see Fig. 19). 
The net lies just below water in the middle of the gap. When 
the fish come the two men raise the net above the water, thus 
caj)turing the fish. This net is knoA\ai as an Atoli dela. 
Fig. 19.— Atoli dela. 
81. — Koraliya dela (Sinhalese). 
Locality : Ambalangoda. 
Description : A net similar in structure to the Pala dela of 
Bentota, but is not dragged through the water. 
Method of Use : When the fish come to the net the man at 
each end lifts the net horizontally out of the water b^^ means 
of the pole, and thus the fish are captured. 
82.— Wesi dela (Sinhalese) ; Vechchu valai (Tamil). 
This is the generic name given to the casting net, which is 
the commonest kind of net found in Ceylon (see Fig. 20). 
It is used universaUy in the rivers, lakes, and backwaters, as 
