Abstract:
Cast nets, known as veesu va/a in vernacular, are well adapted for
capture of small shoaling fishes and are operated both in the marine and
inland sectors. They vary from one another in mesh size, length and
diameter. Its simplicity in construction makes it popular among the
fishermen. Hornell (1938) described the operation of different types of
cast nets in Travancore. The constructional details of cast nets were
explained by Nedelec (1975). George (1971:1981) and Sathyanarayanappa
et at. (1987) have described cast nets operated in Karnataka. Cast nets
in Vembanadu lake have been described by Kurup and Samuel (1985).
Cast nets in the Muvattupauzha river have been described by Baiju and
Hridayanathan (2002). The technical features and economic performance
of different fishing systems in different parts of the world have been
discussed by Yater (1982), Librero etal. (1985), Ranayotou etal. (1985),
Tokrishna et at. (1985), Fredericks and Nair (1985), Khaled (1985),
Jayantha and Amarasinghe (1998) and Emmanuel et al. (2008). Cost of
fishing using small scale fishing gears like cast nets in Kainji Lake, Niger
have been reported by Ayanda and Mdaihli (1996). Earlier studies on cast
nets in Kerala, particularly on the economics of operation, have been
limited. In this paper, economics of cast net operations in the Central
Kerala have been discussed.
