﻿84 
  

  

  OTTER-TEAWL 
  FISHERY. 
  

  

  Increase 
  oe 
  Decrease 
  in 
  Quantity 
  per 
  Vessel 
  and 
  per 
  Landing 
  of 
  Fishes 
  

   Landed 
  at 
  Montrose, 
  Fraserburgh, 
  and 
  Aberdeen 
  by 
  Steam 
  Trawlers 
  in 
  

   1912, 
  as 
  compared 
  with 
  1906. 
  

  

  Species. 
  

  

  Demersal 
  fish 
  

  

  Cod 
  

  

  Haddock 
  

  

  Halibut 
  

  

  Plaice 
  

  

  Skate 
  

  

  Average 
  catch 
  per 
  

   vessel. 
  

  

  Hundred- 
  

   weight. 
  

  

  -305 
  

   + 
  198 
  

   -097 
  

  

  - 
  17 
  

  

  - 
  27 
  

   + 
  10 
  

  

  Per 
  cent. 
  

  

  - 
  4.3 
  

   +10.4 
  

   -21.9 
  

   -36.0 
  

   -18.0 
  

   + 
  5.5 
  

  

  Average 
  catch 
  per 
  

   landing. 
  

  

  Hundred- 
  

   weight. 
  

  

  - 
  6.0 
  

   + 
  4.1 
  

   -13.8 
  

  

  - 
  .3 
  

  

  - 
  .5 
  

   + 
  .2 
  

  

  Per 
  cent. 
  

  

  - 
  4.3 
  

  

  + 
  10.6 
  

   -21.8 
  

   -35.9 
  

   -17.3 
  

   + 
  5.5 
  

  

  The 
  number 
  of 
  landings 
  per 
  vessel 
  was 
  practically 
  the 
  same 
  in 
  the 
  

   two 
  years 
  and, 
  therefore, 
  the 
  table 
  shows 
  an 
  almost 
  exact 
  parallelism 
  

   in 
  the 
  percentile 
  changes 
  calculated 
  on 
  the 
  two 
  bases 
  and 
  tends 
  to 
  

   confirm 
  the 
  general 
  validity 
  of 
  deductions 
  based 
  on 
  the 
  average 
  catch 
  

   per 
  vessel. 
  It 
  is 
  quite 
  probable 
  that 
  in 
  other 
  years 
  the 
  results 
  would 
  

   not 
  be 
  in 
  such 
  exact 
  accord, 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  equally 
  probable 
  that 
  the 
  diver- 
  

   gence 
  would 
  not 
  be 
  sufficient 
  to 
  change 
  the 
  trend 
  of 
  the 
  whole 
  series 
  

   of 
  apparent 
  facts. 
  

  

  It 
  has 
  been 
  seen 
  that 
  the 
  landings 
  of 
  cod 
  by 
  steam 
  trawlers 
  on 
  the 
  

   east 
  coast 
  of 
  Scotland 
  have 
  shown 
  a 
  practically 
  continuous 
  heavy 
  

   increase 
  in 
  both 
  aggregate 
  quantity 
  and 
  the 
  average 
  per 
  vessel 
  dur- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  period 
  from 
  1891 
  to 
  1912. 
  Haddock 
  increased 
  in 
  total, 
  but 
  

   decreased 
  in 
  the 
  average 
  catch 
  per 
  trawler, 
  while 
  plaice 
  displayed 
  

   a 
  practically 
  continuous 
  decrease 
  in 
  both. 
  

  

  There 
  are 
  no 
  data 
  which 
  will 
  show 
  the 
  proportions 
  of 
  the 
  several 
  

   trade 
  sizes 
  of 
  these 
  species 
  for 
  the 
  east 
  coast 
  as 
  a 
  whole, 
  but 
  they 
  

   are 
  available 
  for 
  Aberdeen 
  for 
  the 
  period 
  from 
  1906 
  to 
  1912; 
  and 
  

   as 
  the 
  great 
  majority 
  of 
  the 
  steam 
  trawlers 
  hail 
  from 
  that 
  port, 
  an 
  

   analysis 
  of 
  the 
  statistics 
  is 
  of 
  interest. 
  

  

  The 
  records 
  of 
  the 
  landings 
  at 
  Aberdeen 
  indicate 
  the 
  general 
  re- 
  

   gions 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  fish 
  were 
  taken, 
  and 
  as 
  the 
  great 
  majority 
  of 
  the 
  

   voyages 
  and 
  but 
  a 
  slightly 
  less 
  proportion 
  of 
  the 
  catch 
  were 
  made 
  on 
  

   the 
  "east 
  coast 
  grounds," 
  near 
  Aberdeen, 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  northern 
  

   grounds 
  (Orlmey 
  and 
  Shetland), 
  the 
  data 
  respecting 
  these 
  two 
  

   regions 
  throw 
  some 
  light 
  on 
  the 
  change 
  of 
  conditions 
  of 
  the 
  fishery 
  

   during 
  the 
  comparatively 
  short 
  period 
  from 
  1906 
  to 
  1912, 
  

  

  The 
  following 
  tables 
  compare 
  the 
  percentile 
  ratios 
  and 
  the 
  quan- 
  

   tities 
  of 
  cod, 
  haddock, 
  and 
  plaice 
  of 
  the 
  several 
  sizes 
  taken 
  by 
  steam 
  

   trawlers 
  at 
  Aberdeen 
  in 
  1906 
  to 
  1908, 
  inclusive, 
  and 
  1910 
  to 
  1912, 
  

   inclusive, 
  respectively: 
  

  

  