TWENTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT. 



TO THE EIGHT HONOUEABLE 



JOHN SINCLAIR, M. R, 



His Majesty's Secretary foi' Scotland. 



Office of The Fishery Board 

 FOR Scotland, 

 Edinburgh, Wth December, 1908. 

 Sir, 



In continuation of our Twenty-sixth Annual Eeport, 

 we have the honour to submit — 



PART III.— SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS. 



GENEEAL STATEMENT. 



This part of the Twenty-sixth Annual Eeport deals with the 

 scientific investigations which have been conducted by the Board 

 j.i] 1907 in connection with the sea fisheries of Scotland, so far 

 as they have been completed, by means of the Parliamentary 

 Vote granted for the purpose. 



The scientific work has, as usual, been carried out under the 

 supervision of Dr. T. Wemyss Pulton, the Scientific Superintendent 

 under the Board, the researches having been for the most part 

 undertaken at the Board's Marine Laboratory, Bay of Mgg, Aberdeen, 

 and partly in the Firth of Clyde. The hatchery for sea fishes is 

 also situated at Aberdeen, and a statement of the work done at it 

 during the year will be found below. 



As was explained in previous Eeports, the investigations into the 

 condition of the fishing-grounds in the Moray Firth and Aberdeen 

 Bay by means of commercial trawlers specially employed for that 

 purpose was discontinued at the end of 1905, but the statistics of 

 the catches of line fishermen within the Moray Firth continue to 

 be collected. 



In the Firth of Clyde, and in Loch Fyne in particular, the 

 investigation into the herring fishery which has been in progress 

 during the last few years was continued, and it is intended to 



