of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



165 



the general use of the drift-net instead of the usual bag-net ; but both 

 fishermen and buyers were unanimously of opinion that drift-net fishing 

 for sprats in the Tay estuary was impracticable ; the currents, they 

 maintained, were far too strong, and the drift net would not capture 

 nearly enough fish to enable both fishermen and buyers to earn a fair 

 living. 



I further pointed out to the buyers the possibility of the drift-nets 

 capturing more sprats than young herring, because of the deeper, rounder, 

 and more serrated bodies of the sprats, but one of the buyers assured me 

 that he had seen, on several occasions, as many young herring as sprats 

 captured in the drift-nets at other sprat fishing stations. I also, in the 

 course of my visits to the harbour, pointed out to the buyers that the 

 barrels they were using in conveying the fish to the various English 

 markets were generally of too large a size, and that the fish before they 

 reached their destination must be in a very pulpy condition, and many 

 of them not of much use for cooking purposes. 



I suggested as an alternative the general use of smaller flat boxes. 

 The buyers admitted the barrels were far too large, but argued that 

 smaller flat boxes would have to be made of much stronger wood, and 

 this would only add to the weight and subsequent cost of the carriage of 

 the fish. 



1 discussed also the question of the preservation and tinning of the 

 sprats for sardine purposes, and one of the buyers — Mr. William Hopkins, 

 a noted Anstruther herring curer and exporter — was of opinion that 

 the question was worthy of every consideration, but pointed out that a 

 business of this kind would require a large sum of money to set it agoing, 

 and it would not very likely pay for a year or two, because practically 

 the whole trade is at present in the hands of foreigners. 



I learned also that some of the fishermen had bought preserving and 

 tinning apparatus several years ago, but they only met with fair success, 

 owing chiefly to the high prices of sprats during some seasons, 

 and their poor quality and small size during other seasons. If 

 sprats are to be used for sardine purposes they must be bought at or 

 below 5s. or 6s. per cran, and they must be of a fair size and com- 

 paratively free from young herrings. Young herrings can, however, be 

 sardined like the sprats, but they require more labour and expense, and 

 are not nearly so palatable as the sprats themselves. 



Further Notes on the Natural History of the Sprat and the 

 Young of the Herring. 



Fairly large numbers of young herrings and comparatively small 

 numbers of sprats appear to be present in the Tay estuary at all times of 

 the year, but the larger shoals of full-grown sprats only occasionally. 



The Tay estuary would therefore appear to be more of a natural 

 nursery ground for young herrings than for sprats, but its usefulness as 

 such is very much diminished by the enormous amount of impurities 

 poured into the river. 



Here, then, arise the two most interesting points in connection with 

 the natural history of both fish, namely : — " Why do they enter our 

 estuaries at all during the winter months, and what are the causes of the 

 constant fluctuations in their numbers." 



As I pointed out in last year's report, the question of food may 

 safely be left out of account altogether, principally because of the 

 ill-success which attended the examination of the estuarine waters for 

 food material, and the almost complete absence of food material in the 

 stomachs of both the sprat and the young herring. 



