of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



135 



much the same, the former having 2.850,925 cwts. and the latter 2,881,419 

 cwts. 



The sprat fishing is but of little importance except in one or two places. 

 The aggregate quantity of sprats landed in the twenty years was 402,066 

 cwts., the annual average being 20,103 cwts. In the ten years 1889-1898 

 the quantity was 180,223 cwts., the average per annum being 18,022 cwts. ; 

 in the ten years 1899-1908 the total quantity was 221,843 cwts., the annual 

 average being 22,184 cwts. There was thus an increase in the second 

 period of 23 per cent. The fluctuations in the case of this fish were 

 excessive, the quantities ranging from 4214 cwts. in 1889 and 5379 in 1891, 

 to 60,438 cwts. in 1903 and 58,315 cwts. in 1893. 



It is stated above that among the pelagic fishes landed on the East Coast 

 ' of Scotland mackerel constitute only a small fraction per cent., a proportion 

 much below what the relative numbers of the fish in the sea would justify, 

 and below the proportion of other countries bordering the North Sea. The 

 aggregate quantity landed in the twenty years was only 34.544 cwts., giving 

 an average of 1727 cwts. per annum. In the first ten years the total was 

 only 4156 cwts., the annual average being trifling, viz., 416 cwts. In the 

 second period, 1899-1908, the total amounted to 30,388 cwts., with an 

 average per annum of 3039 cwts. There was thus a considerable increase, 

 namely, 631 per cent. It is, indeed, only in recent years that the fishery 

 has been developed, as is apparent from the fluctuations in the quantities 

 in different years. In 1889 only 33 cwts. were landed, whereas in 1905 

 the quantity was 6004 cwts. It has fallen a little since then, the amount 

 in 1908 being 4539 cwts. In quinquennial periods the following shows the 

 average per annum : — 



Years. Cwts. Years. Cwts. 



1889-1893 130 1899-1903 1538 



1894-1898 701 1904-1908 4540 



The great bulk of the mackerel were taken by net, and chiefly the drift net, 

 but of late vears a fair quantity have been captured by trawlers, viz., 1033 

 cwts. in 1906, 669 in 1907, and 387 in 1908. 



Round Fish. — From the year 1892 onwards a section of the statistics 

 deals with ''round fish," but owing to changes at various times in the classifi- 

 cation the figures are not comparable throughout. Thus in 1892 and up to 

 1904 this class was confined to cod, ling, tusk, saithe, haddock, whiting, and 

 conger eel ; in 1904 and since, gurnard, catfish, angler, and hake were 

 included, these species having previously been placed among the " unclassi- 

 fied "fish. In the table on p. 169 the totals are given, and also the 

 quantities which were caught by the three methods of fishing — line, trawl, 

 and net. From 1889 to 1903 inclusive, the totals may be taken as repre- 

 senting the round fishes landed, and in these fifteen years the aggregate 

 amounted to 19,378,464 cwts., the average per annum being 1,291,898 

 cwts. In the seven years 1899- 1895 the quantity was 8,075,311 cwts., 

 the average per annum being 1,153,616 cwts. ; in the seven years 1897-1903 

 the quantity was 9,855,097 cwts., the annual average being 1,407,871 cwts. 

 The increase in the period thus amounted to about 22 per cent. The 

 increase was entirely due to the trawled fish. In the years 1892-1897 the 

 line-caught fish amounted to 5,186,069 cwts., and the annual average to 

 864,345 cwts.; in the next six years the total was 2,511,117 cwts. and 

 the annual average 418,519 cwts., showing a decrease of 52 per cent. 

 In the first period the quantity of trawl-caught fish was 2,281,429 cwts., 

 the average per annum being 380,238 cwts.; in the second period the 

 quantity was 5,981,168 cwts. and the annual average 996,861 cwts., showing 

 an increase of about 162 per cent. 



The total quantity of cod landed in the twenty years 1889-1908 amounted 



