140 THE HERRING FISHERY 



again visited by large shoals of herring during 

 the year 1767 and 1768, while in 1782 the pres- 

 sure of the shoals was so great that those 

 nearest the open sea drove many millions of 

 herrings on to the beaches along with other 

 fish of various kinds and larger sizes. 



The influence of successful fishing seasons on 

 population may be very marked. In the Times 

 of March 28th, 1871, appears a notice connect- 

 ing herrings and marriages, in which the 

 registrar of Fraserburgh stated that the herring 

 fishery was very successful for the third quarter 

 of the year, and that consequently marriages 

 were 80 per cent, above the average. On the 

 other hand, the registrar of Tarbert reported 

 a bad fishing season for the same quarter, 

 with the result that there was not a single 

 wedding solemnised in his parish, while the 

 registrar of Lochgilphead also stated that the 

 herring fishery was a failure to the loch, and 

 no marriages were solemnised during that 

 quarter. A bad fishing, therefore, may mean no 

 marriages in the fishing villages. 



In 1767 the King of Denmark established a 

 herring fishery company at Altona with the 

 intention of fishing the coasts of Shetland and 

 Scotland, whereupon the Society of Free 

 British Fisheries asked that British ships of 

 war should protect the British fishermen from 

 the encroachments of foreigners on the fishing 

 grounds off our coasts, and requested our 

 minister at Hamburg to prevent Dutch herrings 



