Fishing in the Siang belt of Arunachal Pradesh, India: Learning traditional ecological knowledge of Adi and Galo communities
This research was carried out with the Adi and Galo tribes of East Siang and West Siang districts of Arunachal Pradesh, India to understand fishing methods employed by them using stones and boulders occurring in the river beds of small tributaries of the Siang River in the study area. The identified sustainable fishing technique is locally known as Lipum and practised by these communities. The capture of fish ranged from 4-10 kg per Lipum and one person could make 3-4 different Lipum structures per day. Lipum is prepared during winter season (in the month of November and December) and to undertake fishing during January and February. To prepare the Lipum, stones are placed in a circle with a diameter ranging from 1.5 m to 2.3 m, and arranged to produce a structure around 0.7 - 1.2 m high, depending upon water depth.