48 THE SEA FISHERIES 



caught herring is given at £763,256 for 1913. The average earnings 

 per vessel were for steamers £794, motor boats £365 and sailing 

 boats £235. 

 The total yield of herring for 1913 was : — 



Cwts. £. 



England and Wales . 7,313.425 .. 2,325,084 



Scotland. . . 4,449,323 .. 2,087,754 



Ireland . . . 420,620 . . 159,457 



Grand total . 12,183,368 . . 4,572,295 



In Scotland in 1913 the total quantity of herring landed was 

 nearly 4I million cwt. Of these 95 per cent were preserved in one 

 way or another. The quantity of herring pickled, kippered or 

 tinned was equivalent to 1,616,426 barrels, while the equivalent 

 of 25,614 barrels was sprinkled with salt or iced. 



In England and Wales the bulk of the sea fish landed (except 

 herring) is consumed in a fresh condition, but in Scotland a large 

 proportion, particularly of herring, is cured in some form or other. 

 The only two ports in England in which herring curing goes on on 

 a large scale are Yarmouth and Lowestoft. In Scotland the Fishery 

 Board brand the herring barrels, the brand indicating the nature 

 of the contents, being in effect a State guarantee of the product 

 which was, before the war, for the most part exported to Germany 

 and Russia. A Herring Fishery (Branding) Act was passed in 1913 

 to provide for the branding of barrels of herring in England and 

 Wales. In Scotland herring branding has been in force in some 

 form or other since 1718.^ From 1808 to 1815 2s, per barrel of 

 cured herring was paid as a bounty, provided the herring were 

 cured and packed in accordance with the regulations prescribed 

 by the Board. In addition, the sum of 2s. 8d. was paid on each 

 barrel of herring exported. From 1815 to 1826 the bounty amounted 

 to 4s. per barrel of ctired herring. The bounty was then gradually 

 reduced, ceasing entirely in 1830. These bounties were intended 

 as a means of developing the herring hsheries and of improving the 

 methods of curing. To prevent frauds in the payment of the bounty 

 the barrels were branded. In 1809 when the above-mentioned 

 payments were first made (under the terms of the Act of 1808), 

 the total number of barrels of cured herring was only 90,000, in 

 1830 when the payments were discontinued the number had risen, 

 with minor fluctuations, to 444,000 barrels. For a few years after- 

 wards the catch and cure of herrings fell off slightly, but in 1834 



* The present system of herring branding practically dates from the Act of 1808. 

 But for fuller particulars see Chapter V (im/w). 



