FISHING STATIONS— SCOTLAND. .101 



The fisheries at the Orkneys have never been of 

 great importance, and for the most part they are 

 carried on by the islanders as an occasional means of 

 livelihood rather than as a regular business. The 

 Orkneys are divided into two groups, commonly known 

 as the northern and southern islands, and this local 

 distinction is to some extent supported by the different 

 character of the principal fishery in each. The northern 

 group of islands is chiefly concerned with the line- 

 fishing, while the herring fishery is the particular occu- 

 pation of the southerners. The latter not only fish in 

 their own waters, but sometimes join the fleets at Wick 

 and Stornoway. The herring season is from the middle 

 of July to September, and at one time it was carried on 

 in May on the west coast. Herrings are also sometimes 

 caught in winter, and, in fact, are believed to be on the 

 coast throughout the year ; but they are very uncertain 

 in their movements, and the fishermen generally are 

 not disposed to devote much of their time to looking for 

 them. As a rule the men are not well off, and for some 

 few years past the increased cultivation of the land has 

 provided them with more certain employment and more 

 regular returns than they would probably have obtained 

 by prosecuting the fisheries. There is no reason to doubt 

 that there are plenty of fish of various kinds on the 

 coast, but they change their localities a good deal, and 

 the Orcadians are not all such thoroughbred fishermen 

 as to follow up their profession under many difficulties. 

 It may be said for them, however, that the rapid tides 

 among the islands and, the frequent bad weather are 

 serious difficulties to men who are not well found in boats 

 and gear. Some quantity of herrings are caught near 

 the nortliern islands, but the principal takes are on 

 the south-east coast, between Stronsa and the Pentland 



