XXXIV 



Thirty-second Annual Report 



(d) SHELL-FISH. 



The shell-fish fisheries were prosecuted with considerably better 

 results than in 1912, the total value, which was £72,357, exceeding 

 that of the preceding year by £4763, and the average for the ten years 

 1903-1912 by £682.^ Towards this total the East Coast contributed 

 35 per cent., Orkney and Shetland 10 per cent., and the West Coast 

 55 per cent., as compared with 37 per cent., 8 per cent., and 55 per 

 cent, respectively in 1912. The advance made by Orkney and Shet- 

 land was due to the success with which lobster fishing was prosecuted 

 in Orkney waters during the year. 



Lobsters. 



The irapro^^ement in the shell-fish returns was mainly due to the 

 increased catch of this crustacean, the number taken in 1913 being 

 681,059, or 34,493 more than in 1912, while the value, which was 

 £36,775, shows an increase of £4598. Notwithstanding the larger 

 supply, a sharp advance in prices occurred, the average price per 

 hundred, which was 108s., being 8s. more than has ever been realised 

 before. 



Crabs. 



Crab-fishing was also more successfully prosecuted than in the 

 preceding year, 22,139 hundreds, valued at £14,170, having been 

 captured, as compared with 21,361 hundreds and £13,704 in 1912. 

 The bulk of the increase in quantity and the whole of the increase in 

 value are referable to the East Coast. 



Oysters. 



The output of oysters was not quite so large in 1913 as in 1912, the 

 figures for the two years being respectively 13,161 hundreds and 13,278 

 hundreds, but, on the other hand, the value, which is returned at £4757, 

 shows an increase of £88. The whole of the landings, with the ex- 

 ception of 105 hundreds taken in Loch Tarbert, and 2 hundreds in 

 Shetland, was dredged from the well-known beds in Loch Ryan. 



Mussels. 



The total quantity of mussels gathered in 1913 was 78,576 cwts., 

 the value of which was £4371, as compared with 99,754 cwts. and £5334 

 in 1912. The lessened output was due to the diminished attention 

 paid to line fishing, and is directly related to the decrease in the 

 length of lines in use shown in Appendix A. No. I. 



Clams. 



Practically the whole of the clams landed in Scotland are obtained 

 in the Firth of Forth. In 1913 the output amounted to 6853 cwts., 

 which were valued at £1024, as compared with 8300 cwts. and £1236 

 in thejpreceding year. 



