FISHERIES
Fisheries in India, though very under-developed, contribute annually about Rs. 10 crores to the national income. Rich in proteins, vitamins and mineral salts, fish is a valuable protective food. It forms an important constituent of the diet over considerable areas. The, development of fisheries is, therefore, one of the most promising means of improving the diet of the people.
PRODUCTION TRENDS 2. The inadequacy and inaccuracy of the existing statistics for fisheries have been emphasized by several committees. The Report on the marketing of fish published by the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection is the principle source of information. Some useful data about the marine fisheries has been recently collected by the Central Marine Fisheries Research Station. The technical committee on the coordination of fisheries statistics has examined the question of statistics in detail. Its report was published in 1950 and we hope that with the implementation of its recommendations by the Central and State Governments the position will steadily improve. A sum of Rs. 8 lakhs has been provided in the plan for the improvement of fisheries and livestock statistics.
3. Precise estimates of production of fish are difficult to obtain. The available evidence, however, shows that the present production is about a million tons, out of which about 70 per cent is sea and estuarine fish and 30 per cent fresh water fish. Madras, Travancore-Cochin and West Bengal are the three States which account for a major part of the production. As comparable figures of production for a sufficiently long period are not available, it is difficult to examine production trends. Information about the quantity of fish landed on the west coast of Madras since 1936-37 is available. The figures indicate
i) wide variation in the catch from year to year ; and (ii) an increasing trend in production.
However, in the absence of comparable data for other areas, it cannot be concluded that production of sea fish as a whole shows an upward trend.
4. As regards fresh water fish no figures are available to show the trend of production. The stocking of more than 70,000 acres of water area under the Grow More Food schemes should have increased production. On the other hand, the opinion has been expressed that a progressive decline in the production of fresh water fish has taken place due to
(a) the excessive growth of water hyacinth and submerged weeds in impounded waters
306
307
(b) neglect of tanks, beets, etc. consequent on the development of major irrigation works ;
(c) the silting of rivers, channels and beels ;
(d) over-fishing and destruction of fingerlings and immature fish ; and
(e) construction of dams and weirs over rivers which obstruct the migration of fish from and to their customary spawning grounds.
The measures required to promote the development of the inland fisheries are outlined in subsequent paragraphs. Here, it will suffice to emphasize the importance and urgency of adopting adequate measures.
5. At the present level of production the availability of fish for the country as a whole works out at 3.4 lbs. per annum per capita as against 16 lbs. in Ceylon, 70 lbs. in Burma and go lbs. in Japan. A considerable section of the population of India does not, however, eat fish. Allowing for this, the average per capita consumption is estimated at 4.94 lbs. Availability varies considerably from. State to State. Travancore has the highest consumption of 21 lbs. per capita (about one ounce per day). Other States which consume considerable quantities of fish are West Bengal (13 lbs)., Madras (12 lbs.), Bombay (7 lbs.), Assam (6 lbs.) and Orissa (5 lbs.). Consumption is lowest in the Punjab (0.8 lbs.). The requirements of a balanced diet are estimated at 1.3 Ounces per day per adult i.e., 30 lbs. per capita per annum of fish and/or meat. The availability of meat is poorer still. This indicates a large gap between availability and requirements.
SCOPE FOR DEVELOPMENT 6. The scope for increasing production of fresh water and sea fish is certainly large. In the case of inland fisheries statistics for the area developed so far are not available, but it is known that only a fraction of the water area of 15 million acres under rivers, canals, jhils and tanks has been utilised. No surveys have, however, been carried out to determine the extent of culturable waters. The back water and estuarine fisheries are still very largely under- developed. India's coast line is 2,900 miles long. Though it is not as well indented as the coasts of, say, England and Japan and has a rather narrow continental shelf, it offers considerable scope for the development of sea and estuarine fisheries. Only a small portion of the resources is being exploited at present mainly for two reasons, namely, (1) the small country craft cannot operate beyond a few miles from the shore and (2) over a large area adequate harbour and landing facilities do not exist. Recent charting and exploratory offshore fishing operations carried out in the Bay of Bengal and along the west coast indicate that our seas are rich in a variety of commercial species of fish which can be economically exploited.
INLAND FISHERIES 7. In order to draw up a phased programme for the development of the inland fisheries the first essential step would be to conduct a rapid survey so as to determine the culturable waters and simultaneously to investigate fish seed resources for undertaking large-scale stocking operations. It would also be necessary to classify culturable waters into (1) those that can be
308 THE FIRST FIVE TEAR PLAN
utilised for fish culture without any expensive measures for their improvement and (2) derelict waters which would require a large capital outlay for improvement. For States which are at present deficit in fish seed resources, supplies would have to be arranged from surplus areas, where large-scale collection and distribution of fish seed would have to be organised. Large wastages occur in the transport of fingerlings and fry. Research work done at the Central inland Fisheries Research Station at Barrackpore and the sub-station at Cuttack has demonstrated that mortality during transport and cultural operations can be greatly reduced. This work should be intensified. The bulk of the existing culturable water area consists of tanks and beels. Carp, which are the fish most frequently reared in Indian waters, do not spawn in impounded waters with the result that stocking operations in the same water have to be carried on year after year. If the artificial spawning of carp could be developed or alternatively such species of fish located as would spawn in impounded waters and would be otherwise suitable for stocking, the industry could be improved considerably. The artificial spawning of species of fish that do not normally breed in enclosed waters has been successfully achieved in Brazil, and in Indonesia common carp from Europe are made to spawn three to four times in a year by special methods. We recommend that a high priority should be attached to research in this direction.
8. Other necessary steps for the development of inland fisheries would be to prevent over fishing and the destruction of fry and fingerlings by adopting, where necessary, adequate legislative measures, to improve derelict tanks and beels and to demonstrate improved cultural practices. The inland fisheries are dispersed all over the country side and their development requires an extension Organisation on a large scale. We do not however visualise a separate Organisation for the purpose and suggest that fishery extension work should generally form part of the normal duties of the agricultural extension Organisation and pisciculture should form part of agricultural education in agricultural schools and colleges. Some fisheries staff may, however, be necessary at State and other levels for giving technical guidance and training to the field staff. Arrangements exist at the Central Inland Fisheries Research Station for theoretical and practical instruction in modern piscicultural practices and this staff could be trained there.
9. The appearance of water hyacinth and other weeds in impounded waters has affected their productivity very seriously. Attempts at destruction of this weed have not yielded satisfactory results so far and further investigation and research appear necessary to evolve suitable mechanical devices and chemical weedicides for their destruction.
10. The existence of private rights in village tanks has often hampered the development of inland fisheries. These have largely disappeared as a result of the abolition of zamindaris and fishing rights in them now vest in State Governments. Their systematic management is, therefore, a responsibility of the State. This work would be very much facilitated by enlisting the co-operation of local bodies. We would recommend the acquisition of fishery rights in waters which do not vest in the State Governments if their owners fail to carry out the suggestions made by the State Fisheries Department. The West Bengal Government have already
FISHERIES 309
enacted legislation to this effect. The Fisheries Department should also have facilities for developing fisheries in all State waters without necessarily taking over their management in other respects. We would also suggest that for developing fishing in the multipurpose projects and dealing with other problems arising therefrom the State Irrigation Departments should have staff for fisheries development, which should work under the technical guidance of the Fisheries Department.
11. The long coast line of India has numerous estuaries and brackish-water lakes and backwaters rich in fish. The brackishwater area is computed at about 1.9 million acres,and includes the Chilka lake covering about 256 thousand acres and yielding about 3,000 tons of fish annually. The bulk of the area vests in State Governments and is very largely undeveloped. Its development for fisheries involves large capital investment for the construction, of suitable embankments and sluices. The stocking operations should not present much difficulty as fish seed is available locally. In Travancore-Cochin, a small area has been reclaimed and converted into productive fisheries. Similar undertakings should be organised in other States and areas settled in suitable blocks with cooperatives of fishermen.
MARINE FISHERIES 12. Efforts at development of marine. fisheries should be directed towards-
1. mechanisation of country craft and introduction of new mechanised boats,
2. introduction of mothership operations,
3. charting for deep sea fishing and development of the located fishing grounds.
4. provision of training facilities
5. creating adequate ground Organisation
6. supply of requisites to fishermen ; and
7. efficient marketing.
The number of boats in operation is estimated at about 70,000. It has been indicated that the small country craft do not operate beyond a few miles from the shore and spend much of their time in going to and from the fishing grounds. Consequently production per unit of effort is low. Mechanisation of fishing operations would enable the fishermen to reach areas outside the range of the existing craft and also to fish for longer hours. The manner in which mechanisation can be accomplished is likely to vary from region to region. In some areas some of the indigenous craft may be found suitable for mechanisation through installation of small inboard or outboard engines; in other area they could be brought into service on the basis of mother-ship operations. In still others it may be found more economical to introduce new types of small powered fishing craft, scientifically designed, and constructed but conforming to the traditional lines of the craft normally used. About 4,000 boats operate along the Bombay coast of which it is estimated that about a thousand would lend themselves to mechanisation. Some machhwas, hodas and hodis on the Saurashtra Coast can also perhaps be mechanised. The catamarans operating along the cast coast which are
310 THE FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN
perhaps the cheapest and most efficient contrivance for landing fish on surf-beaten beaches, are not suitable for mechanisation. Although it is not possible to determine, without a proper survey, the total number of existing boats which could be mechanised, their number may not be very large. In Bombay useful pilot work has already been done in mechanising country craft and in Madras small mechanised vessels, not very different in design from the existing craft, have been introduced and are reported to be doing well. It may be useful to send parties of fishermen from other areas to see these boats for themselves. The Plan provides for mechanisation of IV boats-100, in Bombay, 20 in Saurashtra and another 20 On the west coast of Madras. Provision has also been made for the introduction of fourteen 30-35 feet mechanised boats of multipurpose type. We would also recommend that the construction of new boats should be guided and supervised so that they may lend themselves to mechanisation subsequently.
14. There is also good scope for development of mother-ship operations on the west coast of India. These would require tugs equipped with refrigeration facilities and suitable for towing the types of craft at present operating along the coast. The Plan provides for 2 tugs as mother crafts-one to be located off the Saurashtra Coast and the other at Cochin.
15. As in other countries, the large scale development of off- shore fisheries in India would require the introduction of larger types of powered fishing vessels such as purse seiners and trawlers. It is believed that purse seiners, which have not yet been tried in India, would be useful for catching mackerel, oil sardines and other shoaling fish which appear in Indian waters during certain months. We have, therefore, provided for two purse seiners, for experimental purposes,one to operate around Karwar,mostly for catching mackerel, and the other to be based at Cochin for catching oil sardines.
16. The Fisheries Department of the Government of India and of the West Bengal Government have done useful exploratory trawling in waters off Bombay and in the northern parts of the Bay of Bengal. They have located good fishing grounds and collected other useful data which indicate that our off-shore waters offer considerable scope for fishing. There are some other areas, such as Wadge Bank and Pedro Bank, which offer equally good prospects. The Ceylon and Madras Government trawlers have charted these areas and demonstrated that there are commercial possibilities. Possibly due to lack of proper ground Organisation, i.e., transport, landing and servicing facilities, refrigeration arrangements and marketing, Indian trawlers have not yet fully demonstrated the possibilities of commercial operations and the trade has not therefore, been attracted to undertake such operations. Since 1951, a Japanese trawler, Tayo Maru No. 17, has worked along the west coast. The catches obtained by this vessel during the last six months have been satisfactory. Even under severe monsoon conditions fairly good catches have been obtained. Provision has, therefore, been made in the Plan for a somewhat similar trawler for operations in the Arabian Sea. Bull trawling i.e., operations by two small trawlers working together, as practiced in Japan, appears to offer good chances of success in Indian waters. If the Japanese technique and personnel, with experience of fishing in tropical waters, were made use of in these operations, it should be possible to obtain better results. We have, therefore, provided for 3 small trawlers for the West Bengal
FISHERIES 311
Government for bull trawling. Provision has also been made in the Plan for renovating Government of India trawlers and fitting them with equipment for bull trawling in the Arabian Sea for which they are considered suitable. The Madras Government have also got eight motor fishing vessels which have recently been repaired for off-shore operations.
17. It is well known that fishing grounds carry a greater abundance of fish when virgin than after having been fished, and therefore the initial catches should not be regarded with excessive optimism. For trawling to be commercially successful it is necessary that there should be a sustained catch over a long period. A close analysis of the catch landed in ports is, therefore, essential to ensure that grounds are not depleted.
PERSONNEL AND TRAINING 18. The commercial success of trawling even though the grounds are well charted, will depend largely on the efficiency of the personnel employed. It is, therefore, important that immediate arrangements be made for the training of adequate Indian personnel. The Government of India have been alive to this and a batch of eight trainees is being given intensive training in modern fishing methods. It was also made one of the conditions of the licence granted to the Japanese Company that they would undertake the training of Indian crews. In the selection of the crews preference should be given to persons belonging to the fishing community. For a balanced and planned development of the Industry it is necessary to take the assistance of experts with considerable knowledge and experience of ground Organisation and marketing, such as fisheries engineers, naval architects and harbour specialists. The Government of India are arranging to get the services of some of these experts through the F. A. O. and under the Point Four Programme. It is important that the experts arrive, so for as possible, simultaneously and work as a team. Provision has also been made in the Plan for obtaining the services of fishing technicians required for manning fishing vessels. Where boats are mechanised or new mechanised boats are introduced, arrangements for training fishermen in handling such boats would be necessary. A sum of Rs. 5 lakhs has been earmarked for the purpose in the Plan.
GROUND ORGANISATION 19. As stated earlier the success of commercial fishing operations is very largely dependent on the efficiency of the ground organization which should include landing and servicing facilities, refrigeration plants, quick transport arrangements and efficient marketing. Liaison with port authorities would be necessary for provision of landing facilities. Inadequate servicing facilities have meant plenty of waste of time in the past which should be remedied immediately by permanent long term arrangements. To avoid glut and scarcity conditions and prevent the considerable amount of spoilage which occurs at various stages, arrangements for ice and cold storage and quick transport facilities are necessary at the landing ports and