SCOTCH HERRING COMMISSION. 113 



Secretary to the Scotch White Herring Fishery Board 

 and his inspectors and officers, to aid us in every way 

 in their power. 



" Herrings are caught off ahnost every portion of the 

 coasts of Scotland. But the herring fisheries in Scot- 

 land do not everywhere commence at the same period. 



*' The shoals or armies of herrings '■' appear on the 

 north-west coast of Scotland in the beginning or middle 

 of May. The great fishery in the Minch, the sea 

 between the Long Island and the mainland, is prose- 

 cuted from about the middle of May to the beginning of 

 July. 



" The fishery on the east coast commences about the 

 middle or the end of July, and continues till the begin- 

 ning or middle of September. 



*' On the south-west of Scotland, and in Loch Fyne, 

 the period of the fishery partially coincides with that on 

 east coast. 



'' On the Ballantrae bank, off the coast off Ayrshire, 

 the great fishery is in February and March. 



" The herrings taken in the Minch in May and June 

 are technically known as ' matties.' They are imma- 

 ture fish, with the milt and roe undeveloped. They are 

 principally sold in the Eussian markets, where they are 

 regarded as a delicacy, and the great Eussian families 

 are in the habit of obtaining for their own use an early 

 barrel of Scotch matties. 



"The great majority of the herrings caught on the east 

 are, on the contrary, spawning or breeding fish. Dur- 

 ing latter end of July and the greater part of August 

 they are full of milt and roe. Li that condition they 

 command the highest brand given by the White 



* The word herring is derived from the Dutch word " Herr," an 

 army. 



9 



