FISHING STATIONS— SCOTLAND. .') 1 7 



bitaiits of the Hebrides was one of the hist tilings it was 

 desirable to encourage. Witli a few exceptions, how- 

 ever, the people patiently submitted, and bore their pri- 

 vations as they best could. Tn the course of time their 

 condition became known, and the distress of the Skye 

 fishermen in particular was brought into prominent 

 notice by Mr. T. Frazer, the resident Sheriff of the 

 island, whose impartial testimony to the evil working 

 of the Act contributed largely to the relief which we 

 may hope has now been permanently given. 



The herring fishery may now be said to continue 

 almost throughout the year for one purpose or another, 

 and depending on the locality. The general season is 

 usually later at the south of the Minch than about 

 Stornoway and the north, but there is an apparently 

 well-founded belief that the herrings are on that coast 

 throughout the year, although not always so abundant 

 and so near the surface or the shore, as they are at par- 

 ticular times. Curing is chiefly carried on at Storno- 

 way, but a considerable quantity of herrings is sent 

 fresh to Glasgow and Liverpool, special steamers being 

 employed almost daily during the season for their trans- 

 port. Some of the cured fish go to the Continental 

 markets, and there is a large export of them to Ireland, 

 The curing is necessarily carried on under the inspection 

 of the Scotch Fishery Board, but the Grovernment brand 

 is entirely disregarded on the west coast, and the curers 

 trust to their own names for selling the fish in either 

 the foreign or Irish markets. They allege that the 

 western fish are more delicate than the others, and will 

 not bear the close packing requisite for ensuring the 

 proper weight in each barrel if the brand is desired. 



The general season for longlining, by which the 

 cod, ling, and tusk are here exclusively taken, is from 



