166 MR. oleghokn's views. 



and whicli, at the time, was thought sure ultimately to result in 

 an authentic inquiry into the natural and economic history of 

 that fish. Such an investigation has since been made by persons 

 qualified to undertake the task, and the result of their inquiries 

 summed up in a most interesting report, which, along with 

 the evidence taken by the Commissioners, I shall have occa- 

 sion to refer to in another part of the present chapter; the 

 labours of Cleghom, Mitchell, and others, claiming priority of 

 notice, as the ideas promulgated by these gentlemen, although 

 often hotly opposed and combated, have gone a great way to 

 guide public opinion on the subject, and have evidently helped 

 to influence recent investigators. 



In his paper communicated to the British Association at 

 Liverpool, Mr. Cleghom stated that, living at Wick, the chief 

 seat of the fishery — " the Amsterdam of Scotland " in fact — his 

 attention had been directed to the herring-fishery by the fluctua- 

 tions in the annual take. Mr. Cleghorn believes the fluctua- 

 tions in the capture to be caused by " overfishing," as in the 

 case of the salmon, the haddock, and other fish. The points 

 brought forward by Mr. Cleghorn in order to prove his case were 

 the following : — 1. That the herring is a native of waters in 

 which it is found, and never migrates. 2. That distinct races 

 of it exist at different places. 3. That twenty-seven years ago 

 the extent of netting employed in the capture of the fish was 

 much less than what is now used, while the quantity of herrings 

 caught was, generally speaking, much greater. 4. There were 

 fishing stations extant some years ago which are now exhausted ; 

 a steady increase having taken place in their produce up to a 

 certain point, then violent fluctuations, and then final extinction. 

 5. The races of herrings nearest our large cities have disappeared 

 first ; and in districts where the tides are rapid, as among islands 

 and in lochs, where the fishing grounds are circumscribed, the 

 fishings are precarious and brief ; while on the other hand ex- 

 tensive seaboards having slack tides, with little accommodation 

 for boats, are surer and of longer continuance as fishing stations. 

 6. ' From these premises it follows that the extinction of districts, 

 and the fluctuations in the fisheries generally, are attributable to 

 overfishing. In the portion of this work bearing on the fishery 

 I shall again have occasion to refer to Mr. Cleghorn's investiga- 

 tions on the subject of the netting employed, but it occurred to me 

 to state Mr. Cleghorn's theory at this place, as it has been the 

 key-note to much of the recent discussion on the subject of the 



