— 109 — APPENDIX J: SCOTLAND 



method of fishing on which Scotland could rely for fresh fish. It may be said also, that 

 the struggle for supremacy was practically given up by the liners themselves, who found 

 it more profitable to pursue the herring fishery more vigorously than in previous years, 

 and thus reduced the attention the line-fishing had formerly received. 



The herring fishery has always been, and still is, the most valuable of all the Scottish 

 fisheries, and it is of significance, that the expansion of the trawling and the herring 

 fishery have gone on hand in hand, at the expense in many cases of the line-fishery. 

 The number of boats has certainly decreased, but the total tonnage and consequently the 

 average tonnage has increased. This means that the boats are much larger and, judging 

 from the greatly increased capital, much better equipped. Where formerly the coastal 

 fisheries were almost the only fisheries, nowadays the principal fishing, whether by drift- 

 net or trawl, is in the open waters of the deep sea. 



The chief modes of fishing are thus: drift-nets, trawl and lines. Of the two forms «odes of 



'-' ' risntng 



of trawl, the otter-trawl, which was introduced in 1895—96, and is of the same form and 

 size of mesh as that used in England, is practically the only one employed at the present 

 time. In the Solway Firth on the west coast, a number of sailing boats employ the beam- 

 trawl, but both the boats and the trawls (mostly, if not all shrimp -trawls) are of a small 

 type, and the quantities they bring in are insignificant in comparison with those landed 

 by the steam-trawlers using the otter-trawl. The advance in the trawling industry, has 

 taken place almost entirely on the east coast and is associated with Aberdeen, which, 

 being nearer the northern fishing grounds, has a great advantage over the southern ports. 



With regard to the line-fishing, hand-lines are still employed to a considerable extent, 

 especially for the flat-fish (halibut), but the long-lines, i. e. lines with many hooks laid 

 along the bottom, are of much greater importance. In former days, this was the chief 

 method of obtaining the fresh fish for the country, and according to the Keports of the 

 Scottish Fishery Board, which follow closely from year to year the course of the fisheries 

 and endeavour to ascertain the causes of their fluctuations, there seems little doubt, but 

 that the line-fishing would be of greater dimensions had the line-fishermen not found the 

 herring-fishery more profitable. On the other hand, the number of steam-liners, i. e. 

 steamers using lines, has considerably increased of recent years, but this seems to be due 

 to their being employed in the herring fishing with drift-nets as well as in the line- 

 fishing. 



In addition to the drift-net fishery for herrings, which as stated above, is the most 

 valuable of the Scottish fisheries, various other forms of nets e. g. the seine for the salmon, 

 sprat and (formerly) herring, stake-nets for salmon, stop-nets for sparling, are also em- 

 ployed, but they are of little importance in comparison with the methods mentioned. Of 

 some scientific interest is the recent revival of the gill-net on the east coast. 



The most important species of food-fishes according to value are, in order: herring, food üshes 

 haddock, cod, ling, whiting, plaice, halibut etc. Their relative importance will be ascer- 

 tained from a perusal of the tables appended. 



As already indicated, the fishing-grounds have completely altered during the past ''"'''''?"«""""'» 

 twenty years, and it is only in a very wide sense, that one can say there are definite 

 grounds nowadays. Formerly, the fishing was carried on everywhere round the coast, 

 though more especially on the eastern side, and only a few grounds here and there, such 

 as Smith's Bank in the Moray Firth or Ballantrae Bank in the Firth of Clyde, could be 



