<span style="font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-GB;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA" lang="EN-GB">Traditional fishing crafts and gears used by the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Nicobari </i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style:italic">tribes in Car Nicobar</span></span>

Abstract

The <i>Nicobari</i> tribes are the predominant tribes in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, whose livelihood options are based on plantation crops and fishing. The study was conducted to review the traditional fishing practices of the <i>Nicobari</i> tribes in Car Nicobar, the capital of Nicobar District and to document their Indigenous Technical Knowledge (ITK) with respect to the fishing crafts and gears. Data were collected through different participatory research tools like key informant survey, group discussion, semi-structured interview schedule, personal observation and also from secondary sources. The investigation showed that <i>Hodi, </i>an outrigger dugout canoe is the traditional fishing craft commonly used by the <i>Nicobarese</i> and the traditional fishing gears used by them include spears, <span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-IN">hook and line, trolling line and bow and arrow. It was observed that these tribes also use a few <span style="mso-ansi-language:EN-IN">modern fishing gears. The study elucidates the design and operation of the traditional fishing crafts and gears used by <i>Nicobarese</i> and also the traditional practice of stupefying the fishes with an indigenous plant extract.

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