'File 9/23 I Fishing schemes in Persian Gulf' [‎29v] (58/80)

The inportmice of the ’'Sohoor” ie very ohvaous, also the
Great fluctuations in the catch as a whole*
The fish is caught hy non of Gushah village at the south
end of Abadan Island* Most of the fish is tahon in large .
reed traps, sfiiller qiiantities but of larger fish by means of
nets* The men xiorlz from boats, either the ,, bellum u , an
elongate plarJ:-built craft of about 30ft length and shaped
liho a dug-out canoe, or the !, mihayla M , a hind of river dliov;
of about 35 ft* longtli* * * The fish are tshea from the traps
at low tide both by night and by day. The largo fish are
gutted on the spot. The catch is then quichly delivered
at a not far distant point to an anchored collecting launch
provided by the Company. There the fish i;
ighed or c dun-
tod by categories and then stored in broken ice in an insula
ted conpppyA-^'nt or box*. At the same time a cleric records
the weights, issues receipts for the fish, and uomplotos the
paper side of the transaction* The launch then travels the
•30 odd miles up the Shatt el Arab river to Abadan, bearing the
load of up to 3 tons of,fish* • There is room for improvement
in the icing of the fish in the launches* At Abadan the
higher quality fish for Staff Use is unloaded into a waiting
lorry* There it is stowed, again by .hand, in bulk with a
moderate amount of ice for its short joUrrxey, at an air tempe
rature of perhaps even 115 °F* in summe'r, to the Ootyjany* s cold
store* Arrived there, the 1st quality whole fish are kept
cool ready for disposal through the staff shops. The second
quality, -usually large fish of about 25 lbs weight each, arc
washed , cut transversely into suitable pieces and kept cool
until required by the Staff restaurant* A proportion of the
2 nd quality fish may be frozen and sent in'an insulated lorry
with other fro;
sident there*
ih.produce inland to "Fields" for the Staff rc-
Meanwhilo the third qivALity fish, t]ae numerous "Soboor"
and the small i:.ylividuals of other species, are cenricd from
the launch in baskets on r.iend s backs the short distance to the
municipal fish rmrket. There an .intensely eager and noisy
crowd of several hundred people has collected* The fish is
taken into a. central space, and sold through the iron grills
to the multitude without, mostly women and small boys* The
sight is pathetic, rcr.nrkablo and indicative one may assume
of real need for protein* The mob presses and jostles against
the grill, rial notes waving in skinny hands t!irust through
the'bars, and ir.ploring: voices whining to the few attendants
who dole out the fish* The "Soboor" are sold by the Company
at the fixed price of 1 rial each and no person is allowed to
buy more than 5 fish on any one a ecus ion* The system works
well but the demand is far from being satisfied*
The whole of this highly successful fish collection scheme
is organized in detail, under stringent financial control by the
AIOC, by Sheikh Nasser of Gusbah village as contractor* The
Company provides the collecting launches and the ice, and a
market overseer, and the Company too actually pays out fort
nightly to the fishermen* The contractor is paid at a fixed
rate per lb* of- fish handled* The fishermen agree in advance
with the Company to deliver the whole of t loir catch to the con
tractor, and to receive from the Company payment at a fixed rate
in money plus a guaranteed food ration so long as they catch
more than a stipulated minimum# On account of the novelty and
success of the system, 'and its possible use as a model elsewhere
the. form of contract between the AIOC and the fishermen is
quoted/*•■*»»••