380 



Appendices to Fifth Annual Report 



Mr W. G. T, Watt of Skaill House, near Stromness, writes as follows 

 on 12th June last : — 



Oysters. 



The oysters should have attention, for within the last 15 years even they 

 have sadly diminished, as they have been almost dredged out in the Bay of 

 Firth and Sound of Deerness. When some oyster beds were discovered in 1869 

 or 1870, I think, boats came from all parts to fish in the Bay of Firth for them, 

 and also Deer Sound, and they almost made a clean sweep of them. None of the 

 proprietors along the shores of Firth or Rendall, I expect, can instruct by their 

 charters a right to the oyster beds, otherwise they would have done so at that 

 time I should think, and protected the beds. Some few years ago we had the 

 matter up before the Commissioners of Supply, but for want of funds the 

 matter dropped. 



S >me steps should be taken to restore the beds in Firth Bay, at any rate to 

 begin with .... and the right conveyed to the Commissioners for the good of 

 the county general assessments. 



The Orcadian proprietors seem to admit and recognise the importance 

 and necessity of taking some steps to restore the almost extinct oyster 

 fisheries in Orkney ; and, at a meeting of the Commissioners of Supply, 

 held at Kirkwall on the 29th September last, a motion was made by Mr 

 Watt of Breckness — ' That the Commissioners, in their corporate capacity, 

 ' or otherwise, take steps for acquiring, developing and utilising for the 

 ' benefit of the county the oyster fisheries in Orkney.' Mr Watt supported 

 this motion in a clever and exhaustive speech, which so ably sums up all 

 that can be said on the subject that I cannot more appropriately close my 

 account of the Oyster Fisheries in Orkney than by quoting the report of 

 that speech and the subsequent proceedings, given in The Orcadian of 2nd 

 October last : — 



As a preamble to the motion which you have before you, I should like to 

 make, with your permission, a few observations regarding the oyster in this 

 county. As far back as the year 1502 we find the first written authority, so far 

 as I am aware, that the oyster was known, as in a copy of Lord Sinclair's rental 

 at that date it makes mention inter alia ' there was paid for the lands of Cur- 

 ' sitter, in the parish of Firth, 400 oysters.' John Bellenden, alias Jo. Ben, in 

 1529, in his Description of the Orkney Islands, says : — ' Firth alia est parochia , 

 ' ubi Ostrea abunde Gapiuntur.' Again from the rental of 1595, known as Earl 

 Patrick's rental, we can assume that the successors to my Lord Sinclair in- 

 herited a liking for the famous mollusc, for we find that the number of oysters 

 payable from the lands of Cursitter at that date was 500, an additional 100 to 

 what was paid in 1502 ; and over and above this the 4d. land of Firth had to 

 pay 350 oysters, and the lands of Grymbuster 250 oysters. The two last-named 

 lands had not apparently paid any hitherto, for, it is said in the rental, ' lately 

 ' augmented by my Lord.' It appears also from the same rental (1595), that in 

 the parish of Walls the 18d. terra of Aith paid inter alia '40 oistaris for ilk Id. 

 terra. The 2d. terra of Manclett paid '80 oistaris.' The 4 penny land of 

 Brims was augmented inter alia with ' 40 oistaris for ilk pennyland yearly,' 

 which were specially to be reserved to my Lord. The last augmentation w r as 

 never paid, as shown by a note on the margin of the rental. The likelihood is 

 that Adam Moodie thought that his Lordship had enough of oysters exacted 

 from him, particularly considering that the Walls oysters were four times the 

 size of the ordinary oyster, so retained the last lot to whet his own appetite. 

 Oysters in those days must have been difficult to get, except at very low tides, 

 as it is not likely the islanders had many boats, and suitable appliances, such as 

 tongs, water glasses, &c, for picking them from deep water. The oyster is men- 

 tioned by Wallace, in his Description of Orkney, 1693, as follows : — ' The largest 

 ' oysters ever I see anywhere are got in some places of this county, and the 

 ' fittest for pickling. I have seen them so large that they must be cut in two or 

 ' three pieces before they can be eaten. But the people are so careless that they 

 ' have in few places dregs to take them up, as they do elsewhere, but for the most 

 * part at a great ebb go in amongst the rocks and cut them off with a knife.' Low, 



