FISHERIES 



15 



purpose, and hoisted up just clear of the water ; the top is 

 then opened, and a niiu .steps into the cliest iind lifts the 

 fish out, seizing them by the Lead and tail, nnd throwing 

 then, on the deck of the hulk. It is often ilitHcult work to 

 get hold of the struggling and slippery cod, but one after 

 another they are taken out and handed over to the execu- 

 tioner on the deck of the hulk ; he gr^^ps the fish tightly 

 behind the head with hia left hand, holding it down on the 

 deck, and giving a few heavy blows with a short bludgeon 

 on the nose, kills it at unce. The dead fish rapidly 

 accumulate in a heap, whence they are taken on shore to 

 be packed in bulk in the railway trucks waiting by the 

 Bide of the market to receive them. The fish thus killed 

 and packed reach Billingsgate early the next morning, and 

 are known in the trade as "live cod"; they fetch the 

 highest prices; and there is somethln<r in the manner in 

 which they are killed which enables them to be properly 

 crimped many hours after their de^ith. 



SooTcn Fisheries. — The important fisheries on the coast 

 of Scotland are drift-fishing for herrings, and line-fishing 

 for cod, haddock, ling, and some other kinds. Besides 

 these there is in particular localities sean or" trawl" fishinv 

 for herrings, and for sprats or " garvies." 



Helping Fishery. — We will first .speak of this special 

 fishery, which from its profitable character, extensive range, 

 and the employment it gives to vast numbers of the coast 

 population, both afloat and on shore, ranks as one of the 

 most important fisheries of tlie United Kingdom, as it is 

 aUo one of the great harvests of .Scotland. 



The herring season on the Scotch coast does not com- 

 mence everywhere at exactly the same time, although the 

 principal fishing is always during the summer months, the 

 winter fishings being local and rather uncertain. The 

 earliest herrings are taken on the west coast, and are 



fenerally first met with outside a line between the Butt of 

 lewia and Gape Wrath during April. In May the herrings 

 come into the Minch und work their way southwards ; but 

 they sometimes enter the Mnich at the south end of the 

 islands, and in 1870 in particular, there was a large fishery 

 near South Uist and Barra, but mostly on the Atlantic side, 

 some miles south-west of Barra Head. It is rarely, how- 

 ever, that herrings are taken on the western side of the 

 outer Hebrides, and tlie great fishery may be said to lie 

 between those islands and the niaialund. The fish remain 

 in these waters in greater or less abundance till nearly the 

 end of September, but May and June are the most produc- 

 tive months of the season, and during that period a great 

 number of boats from the east coast go to the western side 

 to take part in this early fishery. As July approaches the 

 order of proceeding is reversed : the time is near for com- 

 mencing the great fishery on the east coast, and one by one 

 the boats which had come from that side return to their 

 own waters, and many others from the western districts 

 accompany them. The eastern fishery begins about the 

 middle of July, and continues until about the end of 

 September, commencing at the north and extending 

 gradually southwards ac the season advances. Many 

 changes in the importance of particular districts as centres 

 of this fishery have taken place in the course of years. 

 For a long time Wick was the leading fishing and curing 

 station on the east coast, sending out 1000 boats daily 

 during the best of the season ; but recently the fisheries 

 from Peterhead and Fraserburgh have been unusually suc- 

 cessful, and they have taken the principal position on the 

 east coast for the extent of their curing operations. 



Drift-fishing is the method by which most of the Scotch 

 lierriugs are taken, the use of seans or " trawls " being 

 practically confined to a few localities on the west coast 

 80 far as regards the herrings, although they are employed 

 oa the eastern side for the capture of garvies. Cotton 



nets are now universally used, and the manner of 

 wiirking them is prcci.iuly the same as we have already 

 dcici'iliud in our account of the Yarmouth fishery ; but 

 there has been a considerable increase in both the size and 

 number of th>. nets worked by each boat, This hau been 

 due to severa. causes. The lightness of cotton nets com- 

 paitid with those of hemp formerly in use enables a larger 

 ({uantity of netting to be easily handled by the same 

 number of men, and thus more catching power is provided. 

 Then it is desirable to make up a certain weight of nets in 

 proportion to the size of the boats, that they may not drift 

 too fust and drag the nets through the water ; fur all the 

 strain that is needed on a fleet of nets is as much as will 

 keep them extended in as near a straight line as may be. 

 The fi:)heries have in late years been carried on far out at 

 see, and a remarkable change from open to decked fishing 

 bouts has taken place, a change that had for a long time 

 been earnestly recommended to the fishermen for thuir own 

 sakcs, and to prevent the great loss of life which had so 

 frequently occurred when the open boats were overtaken by 

 bad weather. This change led to larger boats being built, 

 capable of using an increased quantiiy of fishing gear. 

 There are thus many reasons for the additional netting now 

 generally employed, without resorting to the idea that it has 

 become necessary owing to herrings having gradually dimin- 

 ished in the seas. We may here mention that the official 

 returns of Scotch fishing boats have of late yours shown a 

 steady diminution in their number, but it will be found on 

 examination that the fulling off bus been only in the second 

 and third class boats, and that those of the first class have 

 been increasing. In the last report issuftd by the Board of 

 Fisheries, that for 1S76, a decrease of 109 bouts is recorded; 

 but at the sinie time it is staled that there were 181 fisher- 

 men and boys more than in the previous year, and the 

 estimated value of the boats, net.s, and lines, had increased 

 by as much as £3.'), 7 19. The size of the fishing boats is 

 limited unfortunately by the general absence of natural 

 deep-water harbours where they would be most useful, so 

 that no very great increase in their Jonnage can be con- 

 veniently made ; and although first-class boats are taking 

 the place of those which were in the secimd, the change 

 does not involve an addition of more than four or five tons 

 in one of the larger craft. Fourteen tons was a common 

 size for a hirge second-class boat, and as anything over 15 

 tons ranks ii> the first class, the new ones of 17 or 18 tons 

 are all included under that head. There is little difi'crence 

 at first sight in the appearance above water of most Scotch 

 fishing boats, but there are many distinctions below the 

 water-line in accordance with local idep". As a rule, 

 excepting on parts of the west coast, the boats are s'larp at 

 both ends and have a great deal of beam, but they dnT>r 

 much in depth and in the extent of rise to the floor. The 

 Buckie boats have long been remarkable for their peculiar 

 build and rig, having a low and broad midship section with 

 a flat or rather hollow floor ; they are very fine at both 

 ends, and have considerable rake of both stem and stero 

 post. They are commonly known as "scafify" boats. 

 Another peculiarity in these boatfi was that they carried a 

 mizen lugsail in addition to the large fore and mail lugs 

 which were the usual working sails of the general run of 

 Scotch fishing craft. Fishermen as a class are most unwill- 

 ing to make any change in their style of boats or methods 

 of fishing ; but when decked boats were fairly tried on the 

 Scotch coast, their advantages could not fail to be acknow- 

 ledged ; and as it was found that profitable fishing^ could 

 be carried on with them in weather such as was dangerous 



' As evidence of the advantage of using largo-ilei ked boats, the 

 following extract from the fishery officer's report fnim Eyenionth 

 is quoted by the Hon. B. F. Primrose, the energetic and obliging 

 Mcretary to th« £.>ard of Fisheries, in hia AnitutU Report for 1876:— 



