312 THE FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN
assembling and distribution centres. The Plan, therefore, provides for installation of 9 ice factories and cold storage plants as following :-
Madras (West Coast) 1 of 50 tons.
(East Coast) 2 of 50 tons
each.
West Bengal 1 of 50 tons.
Bombay 2 of 30 tons
each, and 1
for chilling
100 tons.
Orissa 2 of 15 tons.
Saurashtra 1 of 30 tons.
TOTAL 9
20. Transport of large quantities of fish to inland areas at considerable distances from the coastal centres will require the use of insulated or refrigerated rail transport and we suggest that the Railway Board should examine the feasibility of introducing insulated wagons at the important assembling centres. Insulated road vans will also be useful for supplying fish within short distances of these centres and we have, therefore, provided for 11 such vans as follows :-
Madras (West Coast) 2
(East Coast) 1
Travancore-Cochin 2
West Bengal 2
Orissa 2
Bombay 2
TOTAL 11
Landing facilities for the country craft at the fishing hamlets and minor harbours, particularly along the west coast, require the clearance of silted up approaches, and provision for a dredger has, therefore, been made in the Plan.
SUPPLIES AND MARKETING 21. The fishery trade is beset with middle-men. Almost everything required by fishermen for carrying on their trade-boats, hooks, yams, and sail cloth-has to be obtained through middlemen to whom they have to part with much of their earnings A boat is generally manned by 3 to 12 men working as a team. It may be owned by one of them or all may be the employees of an absentee owner. There have been complaints that the right types of supplies are not available to fishermen at reasonable rates and in good time, which means a considerable loss of working hours. The difficulty of getting enough hooks, yarn, twine, nylon and other lines has been repeatedly brought out. A determined effort to organise fishermen's co-operatives and liberalise supplies of essential requirements is necessary to eliminate middlemen and enable fishermen to increase their working hours. In Bombay, Madras and Orissa a good amount of pioneering work has already been done in distributing fishermen's requisites through co-operatives. We would recommend that all supplies should be distributed through co-operative societies as far as possible. Provision, of these facilities should attract more men to the fishing industry and result in increased production. About Rs. 60 lakhs have been provided in the Plan to facilitate distribution of supplies and subsidize costly items.
FISHERIES 313
22. Lastly we come to the question of efficient marketing which is of the greatest importance for the development of fisheries and improving the lot of fishermen. Most of the fresh water fish is marketed and consumed as fresh fish. On the other hand, only 20 per cent of the sea fish catch is marketed as fresh fish and the remaining 80 per cent is either preserve as sundried fish or as salted fish or converted into fish meal and manure. Increased marketing of sea fish as fresh fish is necessary not only to meet the large unsatisfied demand for fresh fish but also in the interest of the small fisherman, who will get a better return if it can be marketed fresh. It, however, raises the problems of the supply of ice, cold storage and quick transport facilities. Many fishing centres-and these include some of the most important fishing towns on the west and east coasts- have little or no communications with the hinter-land. Recently some launches on the west coast have been mechanised for carrying fresh fish and this needs to be further developed, Development of communications and quick transport is a long term process. Fop many years to come the bulk of the catch has, therefore, to be preserved before it is marketed. Preservation by canning has been tried off and on but the attempts have not been successful. Smoking is almost as universal as salt curing in many countries other than India. Possibly the Indian consumer has little taste for smoked fish. For preservation, therefore, we have very largely to depend on sun drying or salt curing.
23. Preserved fish is very largely used by the poor because of its cheapness. The provision of quick transport and refrigeration plants would increase the supplies of fresh fish but would add to its cost and it would probably be beyond the reach of the poor man. Increasing supplies for the poor man will, therefore, depend on increasing the availability of preserved fish. Facilities for the supply of the requisites of fishermen and the mechanisation of country craft for which we have made provision in the Plan, should result in larger production and, therefore, increased availability of preserved fish.
24. There is considerable scope for improving the quality of preserved fish. Salt impurities result in large-scale spoilage. Useful work has been done in salt curing by the establishment, of government curing yards. Fish cured at Government yards is generally more wholesome as it is prepared under more hygienic conditions and expert supervision. There is, however, scope for research to determine the best curing seasons and types of cure and the degree of purity and correct proportion of salt required for preserving the different varieties of fish. This research should be intensified. The government yards had become popular because salt was supplied free of excise duty for curing, but with the abolition of the excise duty the differential rate of salt has disappeared and in many areas the people are reverting to curing at private yards. There are only two ways of preventing them from doing so, namely : (1) subsidising the supplies of salt ; and (2) compulsion. Both of them may be necessary for some time. Salt supplies at the curing yards in Madras, Travancore-Cochin and Saurashtra are subsidized. The Madras State Plan provides Rs. 53.1 lakhs for salt distribution,
25. The margin between the producers' price and the consumers' price even in the case of cured fish is large. Any increase in producers'(fishermen's)margin of profit without raising consumers' price would largely depend on increasing there turn per unit of effort by improving the efficiency of fishing operations and eliminating spoilage at stages preparatory to marketing. Reduction in consumers' price without depressing producers' margin would depend
314 THE FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN
on decreasing handling charges and retailers margin. It is well known that in most fish markets in India handling is unhygienic and a considerable amount of wastage occurs. Regulation of markets and establishment of planned marketing premises are as essential for improving the quality of the marketed fish as for reducing costs and should receive high priority. Elimination of middlemen by co- operative marketing may bring about some reduction in handling charges as and when efficiency in operations is developed.
26. As large scale fishing operations develop, large catches will be landed at Bombay, Cochin and Calcutta ports on some days of a month when, as a result, conditions of glut may be created which may cause wide fluctuations in prices and, therefore, a feeling of uncertainty in the trade. This would depress prices in the producing centres and as a result the small fishermen would suffer. To protect the interests of the fishermen as well as the consumers the best course would be that the supplies at these three centres should be marketed through Co-operatives which should, so far as possible, also operate the ice factories and refrigeration plants. We suggest that- the State Governments should take early steps in that direction and arrange for the training of adequate managerial staff for these co- operatives. Meanwhile fish marketing Boards consisting of representatives of fishermen, the trade, the consumers and the State Government may be established at these centres to regulate marketing.
THE FISHERIES PLAN 27. In working out the development programme outlined above we had to allocate certain priorities which were based on a balance of many considerations such as the nature of the fisheries, the availability of resources and technical skill,the present stage of development,the interests of small fishermen and lastly the need for immediate increase in production. For instance, in the maritime State of West Bengal emphasis has been on the development of inland fisheries for which there is very considerable and immediate scope. On the other hand, in Madras, Bombay and Travancore-Cochin the principal schemes relate to the development and expansion of marine fisheries. In the case of inland fisheries the priorities are the survey and stocking of new culturable waters and collection of fry. In the case of marine fisheries the priorities are-
(1) mechanisation of country craft or introduction of new mechanised boats
(2) harbour facilities ;
(3) supply of requisites to fishermen
(4) development of marketing ;
(5) provision of ice and cold storage and transport facilities
(6) introduction of mothership operations ; and
(7) provision for off-shore fishing with larger powered vessels such as purse-seiners and trawlers.
Based on these priorities the Plan provides for a total expenditure of Rs. 4.6 crores in addition to the provision under the Technical Cooperation Aid Programme. The fisheries programme will raise production from the present figure of 1 minion tons to 1.5 million tons at the end of the Plan.