76 Part III. — Twentieth Anyiual Report 



It would probably be impossible in practice- — it certainly would be 

 expensive — to obtain all this detailed information from each of the fishing 

 places around the coast. At many of them the fish are not sufficiently 

 separated into the different kinds to enable the quantities to be accurately 

 recorded, and the other information required, even if procurable, would 

 necessitate a very large staff of collectors. It is not, however, necessary 

 for the purpose in view that the detailed information should be obtained 

 from each little fishing creek. It would be quite sufficient that it should 

 be got at a few of the leading fishery ports, where the difficulties in the 

 way are not great, and where the great bulk of the white fish are landed. 

 About 57 per cent, of all the white fish landed on the Scottish coast last 

 year were, for example, landed at Aberdeen by trawlers and liners (viz. 

 1,161,566 cwts. of a total of 2,024,867 cwts.) including 65 per cent, of 

 all the flat-fishes landed. If the particulars above set forth were ascer- 

 tained regarding this quantity of fish, or even a considerable proportion 

 of it, they would in a few years furnish important testimony as to any 

 change in the productiveness of the grounds from which the fish were 

 taken. Similar particulars might also be procurable at certain English 

 ports as Grimsby and Hull, and perhaps North Shields and London, and 

 these with Aberdeen would probably suffice to measure the fluctua- 

 tions in the fish supply from the North Sea. 



The Statistics of the Fish Landed. 



It is, of course, of primary importance that the fish landed should be 

 separately distinguished, as far as that can be done, as well as the quanti- 

 ties of each kind accurately recorded ; and the observation applies to 

 species which may not at the time appear to have great commercial 

 importance. It was customary, for example, some years ago to combine 

 turbot with brill, and dabs and witches with plaice even at the chief ports ; 

 and it is now impossible to precisely distinguish the quantities of each in 

 these years in the original records, although the information would be of 

 value. So far as I am aware, the statistics collected at the port of Aber- 

 deen by Mr. James Ingram, the Fishery Officer, and his assistants, are the 

 best and most detailed obtained anywhere, and will serve as a model in 

 this respect. With regard to the fish landed by trawlers, for example,— 

 which form the great bulk of the fish brought to the port — the following 

 kinds are distinguished, viz., herrings, mackerel, cod, codling, ling, tusk, 

 saithe, hake, haddock, whiting, turbot, halibut, lemon soles, brill, plaice, 

 dabs, witches, megrims, conger-eel, gurnard, catfish, monks, skates and rays 

 and " other fish," as well as the quantities of squids, crabs, and clams. The 

 catch of each boat is ascertained in detail every morning by observation 

 at the market and from the salesmen's books ; and notes are also made of 

 the " other fishes " not separately distinguished, as the black or common 

 sole, which is very rare in Scottish waters — the bream, the Norway 

 haddock, &c. 



The catches of line boats, which comprise much less variety in the 

 kinds of fishes, are similarly and separately recorded. 



Moreover, the sizes of the fishes, as classified for the market and sold, 

 are recorded, a distinction which is becoming more important as the 

 smaller sizes are now brought to market in greater quantity than pre- 

 viously. Thus cod and codling are separately recorded ; haddocks are 

 separately recorded as extra-large (mostly Icelandic), large, medium, and 

 small ; whitings, lemon soles, witches, and megrims are recorded as large 

 and small, and plaice as large, medium, and small. 



As previously stated, information of this detailed kind could not b& 

 obtained at the smaller ports, and even at some of the larger it appears to 



