152 Part III. — Tiventy- seventh Annual Report 



at the Oikney and Shetlands, and it is in ideality at the Ox'kneys that the 

 great development has taken place, the lobsters landed at the Shetlands 

 being much smaller in amount. 



With regard to the value, the aggregate for the whole period for all 

 Scotland amounted to £831,603, giving an average per annum of £31,985. 

 The total for the years 1883-1895 amounted to £385,726, or an annual 

 average of £29,671. In the years 1896 - 1908 the total was £445,877, and 

 the annual average £34,298. There was thus an increase in the value to 

 the extent of 15"6 per cent. 



On the East Coast there was, however, a small decrease in the value as 

 well as in the quantity of lobsters landed. In the whole period the value 

 amounted to £137,829, the annual average being £5302. In the first 

 period the average was £5404, and in the second period it was £5199, the 

 decrease thus amounting to 3"8 per cent. 



In the Orkney and Shetland group the total value amounted to 

 £149,286, giving an average per annum of £5742. In the first half of 

 the period the total amounted to £58,584, with an average of £4506 ; in 

 the second half the total was £90,702, and the average £6977. There was 

 thus an increase in value to the extent of about 55 per cent. 



On the West Coast the aggregate value amounted to £544,488 for the 

 twenty-six years, the average pei- annum being £20,942. In the years 

 1883-1895 the total was £256,896, the average being £19,761 ; in the 

 years 1896-1908 the total value was £287,592, the average per annum 

 being £22,122. There thus occurred an increase in the value to the 

 extent of about 12 per cent. 



The allocation of the valvie of the lobsters landed to the various coasts 

 in the two periods is shown in the following table : — 



1883-1895. 1896-1908. 



East Coast 18"2 per cent. 15'2 per cent. 



Orkney and Shetland . . 15-2 „ 20-3 „ 



West Coast 66-6 „ 64-5 „ 



The value or price of lobsters increased over the period covered by the 

 statistics. The average value in shillings per 100 lobsters for the various 

 coasts in quinquennial periods is shown as follows : — 



The increase in the value on the West Coast, amounting to nearly 27 

 per cent., is especially noteworthy. 



Grabs. 



In the statistics referring to crabs, the quantities for the first two years 

 were given in cwts. and in the other yeai-s as numbers, so that the whole 

 period for this crustacean in which the figures are comparable comprises 

 24 year^, 1885-1908. In that period the aggregate number of crabs 

 landed amounted to 68,341,417, the average per annum being 2,847,559 

 crabs. In the first period of eleven years, 1885- 1895, the total number 

 amounted to 31,332,471, giving an annual average of 2,848,406 ; in the 

 second period, 1896-1908, the total number was 37,008,946, the average 



