The tuna live-bait fishery ofMinicoy Island

The Island of Minicoy (latitude 8° 7'N. and longitude 73° 19'E.) in the Indian Ocean (Figs. 1 a and b), is famous for the tuna fishery, which forms the most important industry of the Island. It has a total population of about 4,000 of which 640, including boys, are professional fishermen, supplemented by about 300 part-time fishermen at the height of the tuna fishing season. The fishery now brings an annual income of over Rs. 500,000 to the islanders whose other sources of income, which are far less than the above, are only from coconut produce and remittances from sailors serving as deck hands in ocean-going merchant vessels. The tuna which forms the mainstay of the industry is the Oceanic Skipjack, Katsuwonus pelamis (Linnaeus) [Euthynnus pelamis (Linnaeus)] locally known as Kaliphilamas which occur in appreciable numbers from September to April, with December to March forming the peak season, though the Yellowfin, Neothunnus macropterus (Temminck and Schlegel), known as Kannali-mas are also caught. The meat is converted into fish sticks or mas-min, a hard dry product obtained by boiling the fiUetted meat in brine and subsequently smoking it and drying it in the sun. The tuna bait fishery is dealt with in this note while the fishing industry in general of Minicoy is being dealt with elsewhere.