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PHTSOSTOMI. 



many young herrings are sent away "with them, while it is impossible to take 

 garvies without taking the young herring. One witness asserted, having pur- 

 chased thirty barrels of garvies in one day, and found they were all young herrings. 

 My only personal experience consists of some garvies from the north-east coast, 

 most of which were undoubtedly young herrings. They were about three inches 

 each in length, requiring 288 to weigh a pound. Whilst from Inverness we are 

 informed that in three years ending 1876-77, the Highland railway carried on an 

 average 267 tons of garvies annually to London. 



I would here venture to suggest that it would be very desirable that an inquiry 

 should be made as to whether or no the cessation of the in-shore herring fisheries 

 has been coincident with the extension of the garvie fisheries.* 



There are, it appears, two chief periods when herrings appear off, the east 

 coast of Scotland, while the winter, June, and garvie fisheries are partially or 

 wholly new institutions. Whether they have or have not any bearing upon the 

 cessation of the in-shore herring fisheries I have not sufficient evidence to adduce. 

 Still it is by no means impossible that some fishes, especially such as are of 

 gregarious natures, mostly return to the place where they were reared. 



Respecting the capture of the herrings off the east coast of Scotland, it is 

 evident that the great bulk of the fishing is carried on much farther out to sea 

 than it was a few years since. Still it does not seem at all proved that the in-shore 

 fishing has been neglected, but the probabilities are that the fish are no longer 

 there in sufiicient numbers to repay the fishermen's labours. 



If we take the average capture of herrings as shown in the Scotch Fishery 

 Reports,! we find them as follows : — 



8 years ending 1816, annual cure, 132,837 barrels. 



The foregoing shows a steady annual increase in the takes, but it must not 

 be overlooked that during this period some questions omitted by the Commis- 

 sioners appointed to investigate the condition of the Scotch herring fishery 

 force themselves upon one's attention. First of all, one is led to ask what 

 proportion of persons are now engaged in this occupation to the numbers that 

 were thus employed at the commencement of the present century ? Is the 

 augmentation of captures due to increased facilities of capture, larger ventures 

 in fisheries, or simply because the fish are more abundant ? 



The earliest date on which any confidence can be placed in the returns as to 

 the number of fishermen J employed is from 1825,§ and I find that the number 

 of barrels of cured herrings has gradually increased from about 379,000 in 

 Scotland and the N.B. coast of England until they have reached to upwards of a 

 million during each of the last two years, while the fishermen and boys have 



* In Norway it ha.s been found that a diminution of herrings in the creeks has been coincident 

 with an extension of the whale fishery. It is believed the fish escaped into the inlets from their 

 pursuers. The terror of the nets in the inlets was less than that of the whales in the ocean, but 

 these latter being killed the herrings do not now swarm into the creeks. 



t These returns were from April to April up to 1843 ; those up to 1849 include those of the 

 N.E. of England ; from 1850 to 1868 they include those of the Isle of Man ; from 1869 lljey refer 

 to Scotland only. 



J I do not allude to figures handed down prior to the commencement of this century. As, for 

 instance, we are told that in 1667 the Scotch had 800 fishing boats, manned by upwards of 5000 

 men, engaged in the herring fishery. 



§ This includes the line fishing, but the two are not separated ; the proportions probably 

 continue much the iame. 



