of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



19 



REPORT FROM UGIE DISTRICT. 



Take of Fish— 



2. The actual number of fish caught has been as follows : — 



(a) By fixed engine, 900 salmon and 1000 grilse. 



(b) By sweep net, 1500 sea trout. 



(c) By rod and line, 500 finnock and sea trout and 8 salmon. 

 Particulars as to the times grilse and sea trout appeared are as follow : — 



Grilse made their appearance in May and continued during June, July, 

 and August. Sea trout made their appearance in June and continued 

 during July, August, and September. 

 4. The Aveight of the heaviest salmon taken during the season was (1) 42 lbs. 

 by fixed engines, and (2) 24 lbs. by rod and line. 

 The particulars of time and place of capture are : — (1) By fixed engines at 

 the mouth of the Ugie, in August 1908 ; (2) in river Ugie, in August 1908. 



Protection— 



1. The assessable rental for 1908 was £809. 



2. The assessment levied was £66 15s. Id., being at the rate of Is. 7|d. per £. 



3. The water bailiffs employed are 5 in number — 1 regular man who has the 



assistance of 4 gamekeepers of Colonel Ferguson of Pitfour, when on 

 their beats. 



4. Particulars as to prosecutions instituted are briefly as follow : — There was 



one prosecution, which was against the lessees of the sea fishings at the 

 mouth of the Ugie for contravention of the weekly close time for failure 

 to remove, between Saturday, 18th, and Monday, 20th July 1908, the 

 leaders of three bag-nets. When they drew the nets on the Monday 

 morning there were 28 salmon in them, which they killed and took ashore 

 to their store. A warrant was granted for seizure of the fish, and these 

 were seized. The respondents, however, subsequently admitted the 

 offence and granted a letter to me, as Clerk to the Ugie Board, to this 

 effect, and agreed to forfeit the salmon to the Board and pay all expenses. 

 Their defence was that the weather on the Saturday night was rough and 

 they were unable to remove the nets, and could not get men to work on 

 the Sunday, hence their not being removed until early on Monday 

 morning. 



The Salmon Disease— 



1. Disease made its appearance this year in the month of October 1907, and 



reached its height in the end of December 1907. 

 The river was free of diseased fish in May 1908. 



2. The number of diseased fish taken from the river and destroyed was 25, as 



follows : — 



Males. Females. 

 Kelts, 10 15 



The Spawning Season— 



1. Fish were first noticed spawning on 24th December 1907. 



2. The greatest number spawned during the period from the last week of 



November until the middle of December 1907. 



3. Spawning ceased on 1st January 1908. 



4. As regards numbers of breeding fish, and state of the water, the past 



spawning season is regarded as a very good one. There was a good 

 stock of spawners forward, the river being favoured with little spates to 

 take them on to the spawning ground. 



Smolts— 



1. Smolts were noticed to be migrating seawards in the month of April 1908. 



2. As a smolt year 1908 was very good. There was a great show of smolt all; 



over the tidal waters in the first and second weeks of May 1908. 



Artificial Propagation of Salmon— 



1. The number of ova secured locally during the past season was from 50,000 



to 60,000. 



2. In securing ova the numbers of male and female fish captured were respec- 



tively 3 males and 6 females. 



