6S BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



large fishing- statious in the vicinity of the rich fishing banks around 

 Shetland and the Hebrides, nor have we constructed suitable harbors ; 

 and we are only beginning to recognize the necessity of providing the 

 fishing stations with telegraphic communication. The fishing industry 

 is to a great extent carried on by men who seldom do more than make 

 a living — not by capitalists who can invest large sums in harbors, boats, 

 «S:c., and the State, which is virtually the landlord of the fishermen, 

 has not yet fully realized its responsibility in i)rovidiug such accommo- 

 dations (harbors) as will admit of their harvest being satisfactorily 

 reaped. It will be admitted that little progress has been made for years 

 towards placing in the markets all over Britain a good supply of cheap 

 fresh fish, and that the curing of herring for exportation (the only 

 branch of the industry which has been energetically carried on) has re- 

 sulted in all but complete failure, the curers having lost during the last 

 two years nearly a million pounds sterling. This being the case, in- 

 stead of continuing to cater chiefly for the continental market, we 

 should rather aim at supplying the home market with fresh fish. I am 

 convinced that unless this is done the fishing industry will remain in an 

 unsatisfactory condition, and we shall fail to utilize the latent energy 

 of the Western Highlands and Islands, and deprive ourselves of the 

 riches of the waters which wash our western shores. In order to in- 

 crease the supply of fresh fish little more than organization is required. 

 It w^ill be necessary (1) for the fisherman to land the fish in good condi- 

 tion, and (2) for the receivers to preserve them by ice or otherwise, and 

 dispatch them rapidly and cheaply to the various centers of population 

 throughout the country. What is absolutely necessary before a step 

 can be taken in the right direction are fast steamers, adapted for carry- 

 ing fresh fish from the chief fishing stations along the east and west 

 coasts to the southern markets. When lecturing in Fraserburgh last 

 February I ventured to say " that a few swift steam fish-carriers, pro- 

 vided with refrigerators, or simply with pens and ice, would revolution- 

 ize the distribution of fish." 



Before pointing out in detail what organization is required, I ought, 

 l)erhaps, to refer to the alleged diminution of the fish shoals around our 

 coast. Suppose we take for granted that the territorial waters (and 

 some of the ott'-shore banks)- that lie between Peterhead and Berwick- 

 on-Tweed no longer yield the takes they did a generation ago, it does 

 not follow that the waters off the coast of Caithness and around the 

 Orkney and Shetland Islands are to a great extent exhausted; far 

 less does it prove the exhaustion of the waters that surround the 

 Hebrides, and flow between them and the mainland. If the banks off 

 the east coast are beginning to fail, it should be remembered the signs 

 of failure are only appearing after many abundant harvests have been 

 reaped, and that even now they yield weekly many tons of fish. If 

 fish are still captured — sometimes in large quantities — in waters over 

 which fishing vessels have sailed for centuries, how much more likely 



