This paper discusses the rationale, execution, findings and follow-up strategy of a pilot project to motorize the traditional Hilsa-fishing Chandi boats of Bangladesh with small, low powered long-tail diesel engines. Experimental fishing for the project was done for 13 months from December 1980 near Bhola island in Barisal district.

Four Chandi boats were used during the trials. The BOBP provided the expertise, the engines and the fishing gear; the local cooperating agency, the Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation (BFDC), provided the services of an official to assist in the conduct of the trials and in monitoring of data. The Swedish Free Mission provided workshop facilities for the trials at Bhola and Radhavallabh. The technical specifications for the trials were drawn up with the assistance of a consultant, Mr. Tong Nadgratok, Chief of the Fishing Vessel Section, Department of Fisheries, Thailand. Monitoring, supervision, and reporting were handled by BOBP’s naval architect, Mr. R. Ravikumar.

The Chandi motorization project is an activity of the Project for Small-Scale Fisheries Development of the Bay of Bengal Programme (BOBP). It is funded by the Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA) and executed by the Food and. Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). This regional project began 1979 with headquarters in Madras. It covers five countries that border the Bay of Bengal : Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Sri lanka and Thailand. Its main aims are to develop, demonstrate and promote appropriate technologies and methodologies to improve the conditions of small-scale fisherfolk and increase the production of fish from the small-scale sector in member countries.