100 PRESENT CONDITION OF FISHING GROUNDS. 



'reefs.' Yet it cannot be said in either case that the fishes 

 have been extirpated, but they probably have become more 

 wary as well as diminished in numbers, and, moreover, they 

 may have changed their ground, for fishes are constantly 

 roaming. It has to be remembered that the food-fishes are not 

 altogether confined to the shallower water, in which they are 

 usually followed, but they likewise extend into the deeper 

 water beyond. Such deeper water and unfrequented regions, 

 therefore, form reserves, in which the species is reproduced, the 

 eggs, young, or adults passing into those areas in which the 

 food-fishes have been more or less thinned. 



The area last mentioned, viz., that off the Forth, is perhaps 

 one of the most important in Scotland in regard to the number 

 and variety of its fishing-grounds. For the present purpose the 

 area may be defined as that bounded by a line drawn eastward 

 from Arbroath on the north, and a similar line from St Abb's 

 Head on the south. Between these points the Tay and the 

 Forth pour considerable bodies of fresh water into the sea, 

 while the Eden debouches into St Andrews Bay between them. 

 The amount of microscopic food — both plant and animal — as 

 well as of the smaller invertebrates which are carried to sea in 

 this area, is very considerable, and, in all probability, is closely 

 related with the richness of invertebrate life both in the waters 

 and on the bottom. The enormous numbers of pelagic mussels 

 swept from the Tay and the Eden alone form a remarkable 

 feature. It is not surprising, therefore, that the fishing-grounds 

 in this region still continue fairly prolific, notwithstanding the 

 increased demands on their resources. In the same way the 

 Moray Firth is another rich fishing-area on the east coast, 

 though the rivers entering it are smaller. 



The steam -liners and trawlers frequent the more distant 

 grounds — not because the fishes are absent from the nearer 

 grounds, but because their ' catches,' as a rule, far exceed in 

 bulk those obtained on the latter. While, therefore, the present 

 statistics show no serious diminution, it may be truly said that 

 the total is kept up only by the supplies from Iceland, Faroe, 

 and the Great Fisher Bank. But the nearer grounds would 

 have produced a considerable supply if they had been persever- 



