Ul 



THE FISHERIES OF SCOTLAND. 



235 



If the results of 1S82 are compared with the average of those of the 

 ten previous years it will be seen that they show a large increase in all 

 the items. The particulars are as follows : 



2. THE COD AND LING FISHERY. 



The cod and ling* fishery of 1882 yielded an increase of 5,823i cwts., 

 cured dried, and 3,661^ barrels cured in pickle, over the fishing of 1881. 

 There was an increase in the quantity cured on shore, amounting to 

 19,200^ cwts., and to it nearly all the districts contributed; but this 

 was so largely counterbalanced by a decrease in the quantity cured on 

 board of vessels that the net increase only amounted to what is stated 

 above. 



In Orkney district, at the end of January, when herring bait could 

 be got, the cod and ling fishing was very successful, and the small native 

 boats were frequently loaded. In Stornoway district the weather was 

 unfavorable till the end of March, but it moderated in April and May, 

 when excellent fishing was had. In Shetland district strong winds re- 

 tarded the spring cod-fishing till May. Thereafter the weather became 

 more settled, and the boats succeeded in making fair average catches. 

 Two hundred and twenty-seven decked boats were engaged in the fish- 

 ing, of which 150 belonged to Shetland, and the remaining 77 to other 

 districts on the east coast. The quantity of ling caught in Shetland 

 during the season was fully equal to the average of recent years ; and 

 in the cod and ling fishing, as iu,the herring fishing, the six-oared open 

 boats, Avhich were formerly so much in use, are gradually being super- 

 seded by large decked boats. 



A result of the success of the spring cod and summer herring fi.shing 

 in Shetland has been that the fishermen there now prefer to purchase 

 shares in decked boats and fish at home instead of manning vessels for 

 cod-fishing on the coast and at Faroe and Iceland. In consequence 

 of this only 19 vessels were fitted out in 1882 for Faroe and Iceland, 

 and there was difiiculty in getting fishermen to man even this small 

 number, whereas a few years ago 38 vessels were sent to fish at these 

 places. The vessels got a fair amount of success at Faroe, but on after- 

 wards proceeding to Iceland in August they were met by large quan- 

 tities of floating ice, so that their fishing was much obstructed and 

 proved a poor one. The decrease in the quantity of fish cured on board 

 of vessels in 1882, as compared with 1881, was 13,437 cwts. 



