()/ the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



xxiii 



upon their catch in 1909 of 31,000 cwts., were mainly responsible (and 

 this notwithstanding that they made 79 fewer landings), while the 

 remainder of the increase fell to be credited to the sailing liners fishing 

 from Stoi^oway. Of the increase in value, £17,905, or 87 per cent., 

 was referal)le to line fishing. 



Whitings. 



The great bulk of the whitings landed in Scotland is now taken by 

 trawlers, and the disparity between the catches by trawl and line, 

 which has been increasino- annually since the introduction of the 

 modern method, was last year still more accentuated than formerly, 

 the quantity taken by trawl (137,242 cwts.) being more than ten times 

 as great as that taken by lines. The total catch amounted to 150,899 

 cwts., valued at £65,523, as against 127,806 cwts. and £48,951 in 1909. 

 Of the increase in quantity, trawling accounted for all but 899 cwts., 

 while the whole of the increase in value was referable to that method 

 of fishing ; liiie-caught fish, notwithstanding the slight increase in 

 quantity, having realised £432 less than in 1909. 



Saithe, Torsk, and Conger Eels. 



The total quantity of saithe landed in 1910 was 211.289 cwts., 

 valued at £32,406, these figures representing an increase of 43,796 

 cwts. in quantity and £8402 in value upon the returns for the preceding 

 year. Of the quantity, 139,860 cwts. is referable to trawls, 49,737 

 cwts. to lines, and 21,692 cwts. to nets, the corresponding totals for 

 1909 being 101,547 cwts., 48,170 cwts., and 17,776 cwts. For the in- 

 crease in trawled fish, Aberdeen, with an advance upon last year's 

 returns of nearly 45,000 cwts., was wholly responsible, the landings at 

 Glasgow, which in 1909 amounted to 6951 cwts., having dwindled to 

 154 cwts. during the year under review. The improvement in tlie 

 line catch was due to an increase of about 4300 cwts. in Shetland 

 district and on the West Coast of 1800 cwts., offset by a decline 

 in the East Coast catch of 4500 cwts. As was the case in the pre- 

 ceding year, considerably more than half of the quantity taken by nets 

 was landed in Orkney district, dense shoals of young saithe having 

 again found their way into Stromness and Kirkwall harbours during 

 November and December. In all, nearly 14,000 cwts. were landed, 

 and a novel departure was the despatch of 240 tons of these fish to 

 Aberdeen, where they were utilised in the manufacture of fish meal. 

 The remainder was disposed of locally as manure. The increase in 

 value was wholly referable to trawled fish, the amounts realised for 

 the catches by line and net, notwithstanding the augmented landings 

 in each case, having been less than in the preceding year. 



Of torsk, 18,180 cwts., valued at £5493, were landed during 1910, 

 as compared with 16,611 cwts. and £3928 in the previous year. This 

 species is landed principally by steam liners, and practically the whole 

 of the increase fell to be credited to the Aberdeen fleet. 



Conger eels are taken chiefly on the West Coast, Mallaig and Stor- 

 noway being the principal ports of landing, and during 1910 steam 

 and sailing liners divided the catch and value almost equally between 

 them. The total quantity landed was 26,516 cwts., valued at £10,901, 



