of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 147 



In cases where comparison can be made, it appears that the vahie of the 

 trawled fish landed on the West Coast increased, but it is evident that such 

 increase was not sufficient to counterbalance the loss from the line-caught 

 fish, as was the case on the East Coast. 



In Orkney and Shetland the fishes showing increased values in the 

 periods were : — Ling by 65 per cent., haddocks 29 per cent., whiting 1087 

 per cent. On the other hand, the following fishes showed decreases in 

 average value : — Cod by 16 per cent., tusk 41 per cent., saithe 43 per cent., 

 conger eel 90 per cent,, halibut 65 per cent., skates and rays 50 per cent. 

 As on the West Coast, the decreases were in the line fishing, and they were 

 not made up by the increase in the value of trawled fish landed, as on the 

 East Coast. 



Shell-pish. 



Tables have also been prepared and will be found appended dealing with 

 the statistics of the shell-fish landed in Scotland from the year 1883 

 onwards to 1908. Below each of the shell-fish which is distinguished in 

 the statistics is separately dealt with in regai-d to quantity and in regard 

 to value. Since the quantities are expressed in difierent terms, sometimes 

 in terms of weight, as for mussels and clams, and sometimes in terms of 

 number, as for oysters, lobsters, and crabs, a statement cannot be 

 given dealing with the quantities as a whole. The value, however, of all 

 the shell-fish may be examined. The aggregate value of the shell-fish for 

 the twenty-six years amounted to £1,957,881, or an average per annum of 

 £75,303. In the first period, 1883-1895, the value amounted to £965,549, 

 giving an average of £74,273 ; in the second period, 1896-1908, the total 

 was £992,332, the average being £76,333 There was thus^an increase of 

 about 2'8 per cent. 



On the East Coast, the value for the whole period was £857,480, the 

 average being £32,980. In the first period the total was £473,445, and 

 the average £36,419 ; in the second peinod the total was £384,035, the 

 average being £29,541. There was thus a decrease on the East Coast of 

 nearly 19 per cent. 



In Orkney and Shetland the aggregate value was £186,006, the average 

 being £7154. In the first period the average was £6327, and in the 

 second period it was £7,981, showing an increase of about 26 per cent. 



On the West Coast there was also an increase in the value of the shell- 

 fish landed. The aggregate for the whole period was £914,395, the 

 annual average being £35,169. In the first period, 1883-1895, the total 

 value amounted to £409,848, the average being £31,527, whereas in the 

 period 1896-1908 the total value was £504,547 and the annual average 

 £38,811, showing an increase of about 23 per cent. 



Among the tables appended to this paper will be found some in which a 

 comparison is made between the total value of the shell-fish of a particular 

 coast and the value of the difierent kinds of shell-fish landed, and showing 

 also the percentage of the total value of the shell-fish of that coast to the 

 total value of the shell-fish of the whole of Scotland, and to the total value 

 of all the fish landed on the same coast. With regard to the former point 

 — the relative value of the difierent kinds of shell-fish from year to year in 

 relation to the total value — the rise in lobsters, and especially in crabs, 

 concurrently with the diminution in mussels, is noteworthy. The gradual 

 rise in the relative value of lobsters and the decrease in the unclassified 

 shell-fish are prominent features in the figures referring to Orkney and 

 Shetland, while on the West Coast there has been a gradual increase in 

 the unclassified shell-fish and a decrease in the values of the lobsters and 

 crabs. The tables also show that the relative value of the shell-fish 

 fisheries compared with the other fisheries, namely, for what are termed 



