APPENDIX A 429 



may apply to the Sheriff by summary petition in ordinary form, 

 praying to have such person ordained to obey the same, and the 

 Sheriff shall take such proceedings and make such orders thereupon 

 as he shall think just." 1 



The suggestions which have within recent years been made for 

 the improvement of the existing general Acts have for the most 

 part been based on the recommendations of Lord Elgin's Commission. 

 This Commission made a most exhaustive inquiry into the needs of 

 the country in all matters pertaining to salmon fisheries, and since 

 1902 legislation based on those recommendations has been waited for. 

 It may not be out of place to mention here the most prominent of 

 the suggestions. 



It not infrequently happens in the operations of District Fishery 

 Boards that the carrying out of certain requirements of the Acts is 

 beset with difficulties which a Board hesitates to overcome forcibly. 

 To meet this condition it is proposed that the Fishery Board for 

 Scotland, or a duly selected committee of that Board, should, as a 

 neutral authority, have power to see that the statutory requirements 

 are carried out. In order also that the Central Authority may be 

 provided with fuller information than can at present be obtained, it 

 is proposed that power be given for the compulsory collection of 

 statistics respecting the takes of salmon in every district, such 

 statistics to be regarded as confidential. 



In the matter of annual close time it was proposed that the 

 period of 168 days be made uniform in all districts in Great Britain, 

 the argument being that there is no very sufficient evidence to show 

 that the natural reproductive period of the salmon varies very 

 materially in different districts, although many districts have been 

 artificially modified in this respect. The dates suggested are : For 

 nets, August 27 to February 10; for rods, November 1 to February 1. 

 At first this might threaten serious dislocation of local fisheries, and 

 by special bye-laws provision might have to be made for special 

 cases, so that they should only slowly be required to come into line. 

 The benefit in the prevention of poaching would be very great, more 

 especially since the recommendation is also made that no salmon 

 should be sold between September 3 and February 10 inclusive. 



The suggestion for weekly close time is that it be for 48 hours 

 instead of 36 as at present, and that it should extend from noon on 

 Saturday till noon on Monday. This, during the early months of 

 the year, gives net fishers on the coast daylight in which to slap 



^ee Blair v. Lumsden and Sandeman, 1869, 7 M. 1126. 



