xxxviii 



Thirty -second Annual Report 



bargh, Shetland, Buckie, and Wick being the principal contributors. 

 To remove and house this army of workers requires a good deal of 

 organising power, and it is a credit to those who employ them that 

 so few complaints are made of the conditions under which the work 

 is carried on. In dealing with such a perishable article it is impractic- 

 able to conform with strict regulations as to hours of labour and 

 housing accommodation, but every effort is made to minimise the 

 hardships involved, and in the majority of cases these efforts are 

 successful. 



In 1913 the total quantity of herrings landed was 4,449,323 cwts., 

 and of this 4,245,758 cwts., or 95 per cent., were preserved in one way 

 or another. The quantity of herrings pickled, kippered, or tinned 

 was equivalent to 1,616,426 barrels, while the equivalent of 25,614 

 barrels was sprinkled with salt or iced (Appendix D, No. I.). These 

 figures show a decrease of 135,719 barrels from 1912, but this is due 

 solely to the falling off in the catch. 



Of the total cure 985,606 barrels were accounted for on the East 

 Coast, 362,139 in Shetland and Orkney, and 268,681 barrels on the 

 West Coast. The districts contributing the bulk of the total were 

 Peterhead (277,700), Shetland (249,456), Fraserburgh (230,875), 

 Eyemouth (197,335), Stornoway (164,378), Wick (137,778), and Orkney 

 and Aberdeen both slightly over 100,000. 



Although the quantity cured was less than in 1912, the quality 

 and condition of the fish showed an improvement, and the price paid 

 for the fresh fish was much higher. The rise in price during the last 

 twenty years has been materially affected by the adoption of the 

 system of selling by auction. Previously curers engaged crews to 

 fish for them at a certain fixed price for the season, and in lean years 

 large profits were made, but in years of plenty the reverse was the 

 case. The consequence was that deep speculation (blank sales) was 

 indulged in, and the results in many cases were disastrous. 



The trade is now largely regulated by the laws of supply and de- 

 mand, and is in a much healthier and sounder condition. As showing 

 the extent of the rise and fall in the price of herrings it may be stated 

 that in 1896 the East Coast herrings realised on the average 10s. 6d. 

 per cran, while last year they averaged 34s. Unfortunately the prices 

 realised for the cured fish were not increased proportionately, and 

 curers in many cases suffered loss. The English fishing, however, 

 proved so successful that the losses sustained were more than redeemed. 



The kippering trade showed an upward tendency, but tinning 

 declined largely owing to the high prices ruling for the fresh fish. 

 The chief centres of the former were in Eyemouth, Stornoway, 

 Greenock, Peterhead, Aberdeen, and Fraserburgh districts, while the 

 latter was confined exclusively to East Coast districts, principally 

 Aberdeen and Fraserburgh. 



The estimated value of the herrings cured in 1913 (Appendix E, 

 No. IV.) was £2,914,711, or £133,580 in excess of the return for 1912, 

 and £285,000 above the highest record previously reached, as shown 

 in the following table, viz. : — 



[Table. 



