An account of the traditional trap fishing in a reservoir of south Tamil Nadu

Abstract

The traditional knowledge of fishing small indigenous fishes in rivers practiced by the Kanikkaran tribal community living along rivulets and tributaries of rivers running down from Western Ghats was explored. The Pechiparai reservoir is native to a variety of fishes and the local inhabitants generate subsidiary income by fishing and sale of fishes caught from the rivers. A small circular trap made by them was the fishing tool with a handful of feed serving as an attractant for the fishes. On average, 200 numbers of live fish per day have been found to be harvested within 5-6 hours. The advantage of the trap is that it is less damaging to fishes and the captured fishes remain active. This traditional fishing method is acclaimed by the fishers who felt this harvest technique as a sustainable fishing practice. The present analysis revealed that this community had a thorough knowledge on various fish species and their habitats, with knowledge on the geographical features of lower stretches of the reservoir.