328 REMARKS ON TRAWLING. 
6,208,018 cwts., or 771,880 cwts. more than in 1892. The greater 
proportion of this, however, is made up of herrings, viz. 4,486,187 
ewts.,—that is to say, a fish which is more or less unprotected at 
all stages of its life is apparently able to hold its own against its 
destroyers. It is, however, a purely pelagic form, and depends 
on the pelagic or floating fauna for its food. If the herrings, 
&c., are deducted a balance of 1,721,831, ewts. is left for the liners 
and trawlers, being 49,536 ecwts. less than in 1892. Of this 
1,296,144 cwts. were the produce of the liners (less by 95,118 cwts. 
than in 1892), and 425,687 cwts. the quantity landed by trawlers 
(45,582 cwts. more thanin 1892). While the liners, therefore, 
showed a marked diminution in their total, the trawlers showed a 
considerable increase. 
When the returns, however, of the fishing-boats of all kinds (other 
than beam-trawlers) are considered, it is found that there were in 
1893, 363 fewer boats and vessels than in 1892, and a decrease of 1,689 
fishermen and boys. ‘This condition of things is sufficient to account 
for a considerable diminution of line-caught fishes, without regarding 
the unfavourable weather of the season. Moreover, it has to be 
remembered that fishery statistics are far from being complete, 
for though the returns show that the quantity of fishes mentioned 
has certainly been landed, they do not indicate those fishes which 
have been landed and not reported. On the other hand, the 
number of the trawlers has increased by two (probably powerful 
steam-vessels) and eighteen men during the year. 
In 1884 trawling was carried on within a “reasonable distance ” 
of land, so that the paddle-ship could deliver the catches of the 
night in time for the market next morning, or the daily “ carrier” 
of the fleet of steam-trawlers from Granton, by leaving the fishing- 
grounds in the afternoon or evening with the united catch, could 
reach that port early next morning. The vessels from the Moray 
Firth could land their fresh fishes at Macduff or Aberdeen, and the 
vessels from Montrose and Dundee carried fresh fishes to those 
towns. 
For ten years the trawl-fishery has been prosecuted with vigour, 
and it is interesting now to see what areas the ships frequent, and 
with what results. To commence with the most northerly, viz. 
Aberdeen, at which trawling has made great progress since the 
former date (1884), it is found that, whereas the chief supplies 
were brought fresh from the adjoining sea by the older paddle- 
ships, or from the Moray Firth by the more powerful vessels, the 
main supply of the present day comes from the “Great Fisher 
Bank ” or from Iceland. Instead of the activity displayed in 1884 
in the strip of sea from 10 to 20 miles off the coast, between 
