114 SCOTCH HERRING FISHERIES. 



Herring Board, and are classed as ' Crown Fulls.' Late 

 in August the fish deposit their spawn, and are after- 

 wards known as ' spent ' or ' shotten ' herrings. All 

 these brands are purchased by fish curers, and exported 

 via Hamburg and Stettin to the great continental mar- 

 kets of Eussia, the whole of Germany, and even as far 

 as the Turkish frontier. 



*' The fish caught in Loch Fyne, like the fish caught 

 on the east coast, are chiefly ' mature ' and 'full' fish. 

 They are superior in quality to any other Scotch 

 herrings, and command a market of their own as 'Loch 

 Fyne herrings.' The majority of them are sold fresh, 

 either in Glasgow or some of the great English towns, 

 where, from their size and their flavour, they are held 

 in high estimation. 



" The fish taken on the Ballantrae Bank, off the Ayr- 

 shire coast, in February and March, are also spawning 

 or spawned fish, and are chiefly sold in a fresh state. 

 The Ayrshire fishery is the only instance of an exten- 

 sive fishery for full and spent herrings at that time of 

 the year ; the fishery for spawning fish at all other 

 parts of the coast is conducted in the summer or 

 autumn, and not in the winter or spring. 



" The west coast fishery for matties in May and June, 

 the east coast fishery in July and August, the Loch 

 Fyne fishery in the summer and autumn, and the 

 winter fishery on the coast of Ayrshire, form the four 

 most important fisheries for herrings in Scotland at the 

 present time. But herrings are caught in other parts 

 of Scotland, and in most of those parts at all times of 

 the year. They are largely used as bait for cod and 

 ling, and for the long lines generally ; and their use in 

 this respect is of especial importance." 



Those w^lio are interested in the herring fisheries 



