A history of nets and bans:

Restrictions on Technical
Innovation along the
Coromandel Coast of India
Maarten Bavinck
Centre for Maritime Research, University of Amsterdam
K. Karunaharan
Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli
Fishing hamlets of Coromandel Coast
• There are about 261 small hamlets with average population of 1150
in the northern part of the coast.
• The primary occupation here is fishing which has strong influence on
their culture.
• Most of the people belong to Pattinavar caste’s two sub caste .
• The village councils are very powerful.
• As most people belong to same caste and have the same occupation
unity among villagers is very strong though its leads to inter village
rivalries at times.
Fishing
• In the region the fishing technology has improved more than the
same in agriculture despite green revolution.
• This lead to introduction of some bans and regulation to prevent the
advancing technology to do any harm . Harms are classified into 3
types by the author
• Harm to fish stock
• To other fishing gear users
• Community as a whole
Village councils
1. It has a broader responsiibilty of
1. Settling disputes
2. Representing village to the outside world
3. Taking decision for the common good
4. Guarding system of membership of village
5. Taxation
6. Social practices to help people when needed
2. The village council is not a government organization is powered by the
cohesion among villagers and effective administration due to small size
of villages
3. Kinship ,marriage and village goddess makes these bounds and the
institute stronger
 Traditional bag nets
• fixed lures
• the shore seine
• a simple pair trawl(operated by two
kattumaram crews)

• ‘if the shore seine is shot, the whole village

eats’
• Cooperation between large group of fishers
• Shareholding ownership
• Employed sizeable village population
• Fishes were alive when caught
First attempt to ban
• The petition submitted to colonial government in 1896
• [T]he apparent reason for not obtaining fish is that 30 or 40 men have
started a new kind of fishing net called vallay vallai, for about the last
10 years and use them in the sea at nights...when these nets are
used, there being no bag attached to these nets, to allow the fish to
get into safely, the fish get entangled in the ropes of the vallay vallai in
a suspending position throughout,bleed and die instantaneously.
Protest against synthetic net material
• Nylon cuts the fish flesh
• Large catches at the expense of others
• Humored that eating fish procured with the new technique led to at least
one death
• Government was introducing them at subsidized rate around 1960.
• Cooperatives which distributed new material banned by village council of
Kalimanagar
• But the village faced resistance from neighboring villages which shared sea
boundary leading to
• Seizing of nets
• Weighing down nets using stones
• Long litigation battle and high expenses to both parties
Ban lifted
• Subramaniam (Kalvimanagar, 50)
• “The government was encouraging its use and fishers from many
adjacent villages came to our waters to fish. We stopped them
regularly, but when there are so many, a ban is hard to enforce
.Finally a village meeting was held to discuss the lifting of the ban and
a date was fixed after which all village fishermen could make use of
the material.”
Bottom nets ban in late 1960s
• Hook and line user would earn Rs 10-20 and those with money would earn
Rs 100-200.

• This ban lasted several years, until Kalvimanagar fishermen learned how to
use bottom set nets and the technology became widespread. Hand-lining
has since declined.
• Nagappan (55):
“I am specialized in hand line fi shing but I can’t carry it out
now as [bottom nets are being used on the same grounds. As I am older, I
can’t manage to go in search of other rocky patches further out at sea.”
The Trammel Net – Enchantment and
Trepidation (1980s)
• Advances synthetic gill net with three layers
• Common introductory date (April 1,1983 )for level playing field for
everyone(A form of temporary ban).
• But when introduced it captures all species including lobster, shrimp,
fishes in large numbers as opposed to small target of older gill nets.
• This made life very tough for old men.
• Leading to a half hearted ban on trammel net which banned using it
in night as it would scare the fishes away and they would travel long
distance by day
• This ban also slowly faded due to technology penetration
Snail nets (1996)
• Due to international demand of snails exporters supplied fisherman
with snail nets.
• These nets were baited with waste(decomposing meet of ray fish)
• But the odor apparently led to scaring away of fishes leading to
depletion of fish stock
Banned or not
• Decided on the basis of radical/incremental theory.
• Not very popular and harmful for the users ,so adopted by only some
so does not make a significant on the community
Conclusion
• Fish stock refers to
• Non capitalist sought of communist
• Homogeneity enforced by village council
• Regulations for common good
• Good not defined in absolute terms (money)
• But do not so-called ‘modern’ management methods also have a
cultural dimension?