Indigenous Bamboo-Made Fishing Implements of Assam

The rivers Brahmaputra and Barak along with their numerous tributaries and rivulets has been traditional source of fishing for the people of the state Assam from the time immemorial. Diverse range of traditional and indigenous fishing gears are used to harvest the fishery resources from these water bodies. Many of the traditional fishing gears are exclusively made of bamboos which are still in use today in one form or another contributing to the total fish production and the economy of the local community. Variation of fish harvesting systems in the region can be attributed due to the topography, diverse terrain, fish habitat, fish behaviour, fish diversity, fisher community and availability of construction materials, cost and skill. Bamboo-made fishing gears were found to be effective for specific kind of fishes and are widely used throughout the season due to its ease of operation, low cost and availability of raw material and easy construction.