THE FISHING INDUSTRY 89 
to the densely populated areas in the south, all provide employment for 
thousands of men and women. 
Since the war the industry has been faced with tremendous difficulties, 
chiefly on account of the high cost of production, the relatively lower 
price of fish and the loss of foreign markets, but owners and fishermen 
with characteristic fortitude and tenacity have stemmed the tide and there 
are signs that the industry is slowly but surely regaining its former pros- 
perity. ‘The introduction of the seine net and improvements in the otter 
trawl have added to the supplies, while new engineering developments 
have helped to reduce the running costs. Experiments on better handling 
of the fish at sea and more scientific methods of preservation have resulted 
in improved quality of fish and higher prices. Attempts are being made 
at sea to utilise the waste products and to render oils from the fresh 
livers in a raw state for further refinery ashore. 
On the shore side of the industry progress has kept pace with the 
changes occurring in the character of the material. The intensity with 
which fishing has been prosecuted and the relative scarcity of large sizes 
have resulted in fish of small size, principally haddock, being brought to 
market in much greater quantities than in earlier years. This develop- 
ment presented the fishery scientist and administrator as well as the fish 
merchant with difficult problems, but the introduction of ‘ block-filleting ’ 
has enabled the latter to utilise these small fish and to offer the consumer 
a cheap, attractive and wholesome food. ‘The use of machinery in the 
preparation of both white fish and herring is still in its infancy and is 
likely to extend greatly in the future. Motor transport is receiving 
greater attention and advertising of fishery products has greatly increased, 
much to the benefit of the industry. Aberdeen is not lagging behind in 
any of these activities. 
Aberdeen is no longer an active herring fishing centre, but on account 
of the importance of this branch of the industry to the North-east of 
Scotland and the town’s connection with it, some reference to this section 
will not be inappropriate. In the early days when the Government 
endeavoured to encourage the herring fishery by means of a bounty the 
boats at the two creeks, Footdee and Torry, were too small to participate 
in the fishery. Not until the seventies, when the herring curing industry 
was in a prosperous condition, did the Aberdeen fleet begin to increase 
steadily, and in the early eighties the port had become one of the important 
herring fishing centres. While the great bulk of the catch was cured for 
the Continental markets, considerable quantities were sold fresh, con- 
verted into kippers, or preserved in tins for export. Decline set in with 
the appearance in 1899 of the steam drifter, which brought grounds at a 
considerable distance from Fraserburgh and Peterhead within the daily 
range of the fleets fishing from these ports. It became unnecessary, 
therefore, and uneconomic to transport curing stock and personnel to the 
more southerly ports in the vicinity of which shoals are later in appearing. 
At the same time the growth of Aberdeen as a trawling centre resulted 
in competition for berthing and curing facilities, and the seasonal drift-net 
fishery had little chance of survival. 
The history of the counties of Aberdeen and Banff in their relation to 
