Appendices to Twenty -fourth Annual Report 



The Salmon Disease— 



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



reached its height in December 1004. 

 The river was free of diseased fish in February 1905. 



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



follows : — 





Males. 



Females. 



Kelts, . . 



102 



58 



Clean, .... 







The Spawning Season— 



1. Fish were first noticed spawning early in November. 



2. The greatest number spawned during December. 



3. Spawning ceased practically by the middle of February. 



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



spawning season is regarded as not very satisfactory. Owing to the 

 low state of the river and so many obstructions by dam dykes in the 

 lower river, the fish did not reach the upper waters, where the best 

 spawning beds have always been. Consequently the spawning season 

 cannot be called good. 



Smolts— 



1. Smolts were noticed to be migrating seawards in the middle of March. 



2. As a smolt year 1905 was below an average. 



Artificial Propagation of Salmon— 



1. The number of ova secured locally during the past season was about 



2,000,000 in December 1904, carried to and deposited in some of the 

 tributaries in the middle reaches ; this done as the low state of the 

 river prevented the fish from getting past the mill dykes.* 



2. In securing ova the numbers of male and female fish captured were : — 



Exact figures not taken note of at the time, but the proportions 

 would be about 2 female fish to 1 male. 



REPORT FROM YTHAN DISTRICT. 

 Take of Fish— 



1. As compared with the average results of previous years, the take of fish 



generally throughout the district has been rather above the average. 

 More particularly it has been 



(a) By sweep net in tidal waters, rather under the average. 

 (6) By rod and line, rather under the average. 



2. The actual number of fish caught by rod and line has been 150 salmon. 



3. The weight of the heaviest salmon taken during the season was 41 lbs., 



caught in a bag net at Port Erroll fishings in July. Heaviest salmon 

 caught by rod and line, 27 lbs., in Upper Haddo House Water in 

 October. 



Protection— 



1. The assessable rental for 1905 wa» £1369. 



2. The assessment levied was £175 14s. lid. 



3. The water bailiffs employed are 5 in number during the winter, and 1 all 



the year round. 



* Further, about 80,000 ova put into the hatchery at Fish Street on 22nd December 

 1904. About 60 per cent, of these were successfully hatched and put into the middle 

 reaches of the Don and the Dee in the first week of June 1905. 



