Fishermen of Tharda and Lake Benath coast
Disclaimer: This is a derivative work discussing Hârn or Hârn World, originally created by N. Robin Crossby. No assertion of copyright to Hârn or Hârn World is made by producer or the publisher of this work.
Lake Benath is known of its fishing industry, producing both food for the Thardan population and raw materials for the Shiran perfume industry. This article traces the size and socio-economical importance of Lake Benath fishing industry, and more generally the regional proportions of Thardans living from fishing. The results will add to the understanding and colour of the largely forgotten Lake Benath coastal Districts.
Fishermen in Tharda: statistics
Agriculture and animal husbandry are the chief food producers in all civilised Hârnic societies. On third place comes fishing, and especially coastal fishing. While all Hârnic rivers are rich with fish, the best catching and large-scale fishing industries are located on the ocean and Lake Benath coasts. In these regions fishing is substantially more important than in inland and riverside regions, even if the number of fishermen still remains much lower than the number of farmers.
In Tharda, as in all other civilised societies on the island of Hârn, 2.5 % of all households depend on fishing as their main livelihood. For the Thardic region, with just under 21.000 households, this means 524 households.
However, like all numbers derived from the Occupation Generation Table (OGT), this number has to be at least slightly vague. First, we must accept an error marginal of several percentages. Thus the exact number of fishermen households probably varies between 500 and 550.
Second, the number of actual fishermen is probably larger than the number of fishermen households, as in many households not just the father, but also all adolescent or adult sons take part in fishing. Assuming that every second household has one such additional member, we land somewhere between 750 and 800 professional fishermen.
Third, there are many farmers who are fishing – and have the right to do so – on their own land or on the lands of their master. No guild rights protect the fishermen. Especially the rich will have special fish ponds, tended by their underlings. It is clear that the number of farmers and other rural people fishing is actually larger than the number of professional fishermen in Tharda. However, few of them produce more fish than consumed by their household or immediate local community.
Thus professional fishermen are those who produce fishing surpluses and trade them for other products, grain and flour or baked bread included. In addition, they don’t only catch fish that is meant for eating, but also fish and other maritime fauna that is needed to produce other articles, for example oils and cosmetics. As Shiran is known of such products, it is clear that the fishermen of Tharda, and especially those on Lake Benath, are part of a specialised fishing industry.
Divisions of fishermen in Tharda
The importance of Lake Benath fishing opens an interesting question: How many of the Thardan fishermen operate on Lake Benath?
It is obvious that on micro level the Thardic society does not produce the same proportions of local professionals than on macro level. A very rough comparison of river area and the area of Lake Benath coastal waters shows that Lake Benath fish populations will necessarily be manifold when compared to those of the rivers. Thus the waters on Lake Benath will support proportionally many more fishermen than the inland rivers and ponds.
As the sources give no clear figures, I will proceed in the following with an estimated figure of the division between the fishermen operating on inland rivers and ponds, and the fishermen operating on Lake Benath. Let 20 % of the Thardan fishermen operate on inland rivers and ponds, and 80 % on Lake Benath.
Another, easily answerable question is the division between rural and urban fishermen. From the OGT we know that half of the fishermen are urban, the other half being rural. On local scale this number will vary greatly. In urbanised inland regions fishing serves the urban population, which is mostly unable to produce its own food, but able to pay for preferred and varied foods. The opposite is true on less urbanised Lake Benath coast. Here it should be noted that Shiran is not on the coast, but on River Thard.
As the sources give no clear figures, I will use an estimated figure for the actual urbanity of the fishermen in different parts of Tharda. Let the urbanity of the inland riverside fishermen be 75 %. This means that 75 % of 20 %, or 15 % of all Thardan fishermen live in urban centres in inland Tharda.
Keeping the total urbanity of Thardan fishermen at 50 %, following figures for the Thardan total proportions of the fisherman population can be generated. The actual number of households is given in parenthesis, rounded to the closest 5.
| Region | Urban | Rural | Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inland rivers | 15 % | (80) | 5 % | (25) | 20 % | (105) |
| Lake Benath | 35 % | (185) | 45 % | (235) | 80 % | (420) |
| Total: | 50 % | (265) | 50 % | (260) | 100% | (525) |
Fishermen in Lake Benath Districts
Six Thardan Districts share the Thardan Lake Benath coast among themselves. Starting from the west they are Stimos, Dumon, Parnan, Shiran, Hediro, and Firis. However, being on the coast does not automatically make a District important for fishing. The number of fishermen in a District depends on the actual population living on the immediate coast. Going trough the Thardic settlements on Lake Benath coast, following figures are generated.
| District | in Centre | in Villages | Total | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stimos | 96 | 228 | 324 | 16.1 % |
| Dumon | 128 | 187 | 315 | 15.7 % |
| Parnan | 165 | 107 | 272 | 13.5 % |
| Shiran | -- | 98 | 98 | 4.9 % |
| Hediro* | 227 | 363 | 590 | 29.3 % |
| Firis | 125 | 287 | 412 | 20.5 % |
| Total: | 741 | 1270 | 2011 | 100.0 % |
* Hediro District has two coastal centres: Hediro and Cestor.
The population living in the centres does not automatically count as urban, because part of the population will be living and working outside of the main population hub. Following the guidelines given in Hârn Towns by Jonathan Nicholas, the approximated number of the rural population can be subtracted from the population of the centres. This gives the following subdivision into urban and rural coastal population.
| District | Urban | Rural |
|---|---|---|
| Stimos | 80 | 244 |
| Dumon | 110 | 205 |
| Parnan | 143 | 129 |
| Shiran | -- | 98 |
| Hediro* | 182 | 408 |
| Firis | 74 | 338 |
| Total: | 589 | 1422 |
* Two centres: Hediro and Cestor.
The proportion of urban and rural fishermen in individual Districts will vary, but the general proportions generated above for Lake Benath coastal fishermen can be applied to the general number of households living on Lake Benath coast.
Of the 589 urban households, 185 are fishermen households, meaning that approximately one third of the townsmen in urban settlements on Lake Benath coast make their living by fishing. The rural proportions are less striking. Of the 1431 rural households, 235 are fishermen households, meaning that one sixth of the population in rural settlements on Lake Benath coast make their living by fishing. Even then, the number is drastically higher than the general proportion of fishermen in Thardan society.
This shows how important for the local economy the Lake Benath fishing really is.
Lake Benath fishing in context
The numbers in this article have been derived from the OGT via two multipliers: the proportion of fishermen between Lake Benath coast and inland Tharda, and the proportion of urban and rural fishermen in both regions. If not accurate, these estimated multipliers are at least of the right magnitude. Based on the socio-economy of the Thardan Districts, other estimates cannot differ drastically, and the general conclusions must remain the same.
- Thardan fishermen are concentrated on Lake Benath coast.
- Lake Benath coast fishermen are concentrated in local towns.
- Fishing is crucially important for the Lake Benath towns.
Lake Benath fishing industry operates locally, but is a part of a well organised regional business. Along with the mining enterprises in Stimos District, fishing industry is the major economic link between the Lake Benath region and central Tharda. The flow of metals and fishing products from the Lake Benath region is paid with salt, grain, and finished tools and goods from central Tharda.
Shiran merchant families act as agents in this trade, and Shiran is the regional centre of the Lake Benath fishing. Along with the famous dye and perfume industry, trade with the aforementioned raw materials and goods is the source of the wealth of the Shiran merchants. The fishermen living in Lake Benath towns and coastal villages bring their catches to Shiran fresh, salted or dried. Oils require freshness, meaning that the buyers in Shiran must make deals with the fishermen in advance to assure a steady flow of fresh fishing products.
Locally, especially in the Lake Benath towns, fishing industry is an important part of everyday life. Approximately one third of the population lives from fishing itself. To this number must be added the salters and merchants trading in fish products, and the shipwrights and coopers who make the vessels needed for fishing, preserving and transport. In addition, the District administrators must pay attention to fishing, because a major part of the tax revenues depends on it.
The town harbours on Lake Benath coast tend to have large facilities for drying fish and nets. The towns smell of fish, and people talk of fish and fishing. Fish is an all-important part of both urban and rural diets. For example the miners and mercenaries operating in Kom Province mostly live on bread and fish soup.