of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



XXXV 



Table showing 



the Number of Arrivals of Fishing Vessels, the 

 Quantity and Value of White-fish landed, and the Average 

 Catch and Value per Vessel, during the Years 1905-1910. 





No. of Arrivals. 



Quantity of Fish Landed. 



Value of Fish Landed. 



Year. 



H 





— > »> 

 r3 



a.s 



CO J 



S- CO 



H 



4J "O .S 



S c 



O 



H 



it 



S ^ 2 



3co CD 



CO 



— 03 



s 1 



co;3 



"3 



o 

 H 



1905 

 1906 

 1907 

 1908 

 1909 

 1910 



8,909 

 8,836 

 9,562 

 10,418 

 10,908 

 11,096 



2,011 

 2,0.30 

 1,746 

 2,187 

 1,698 

 1,563 



5,892 

 5,888 

 4,152 

 3,717 

 3,081 

 2,479 



Cwts. 

 1,335,878 

 1,376,203 

 1,621,888 

 1,689,451 

 1,622,655 

 1,665,240 



Cwts. 

 174,840 

 150,398 

 144,021 

 226,535 

 223,055 

 261,345 



Cwts. 

 18,445 

 20,999 

 12,015 

 10,451 

 6,633 

 5,682 



Cwts. 

 1,529,163 

 1,547,600 

 1,777,924 

 1,926,437 

 1,8.52,343 

 1,932,267 



£ 



733,306 

 735,755 

 772,049 

 771,734 

 757,787 

 879,028 



£ 

 94,254 

 96,158 

 99,613 

 122,018 

 112,516 

 145,610 



£ 

 9,521 

 9,581 

 7,802 

 5,616 

 4,207 

 3,667 



£ 



837,081 

 841,494 

 879,464 

 899,368 

 874,. 510 

 1,028,-305 





Average Quantity per 

 Vessel. 



Average Value per 

 Vessel. 



Average Value per Cwt. 



Year. 



Trawl- 

 ers. 



Steam 

 and Sail 

 Liners. 



Small 

 Liners. 



i 



Trawl- 

 ers. 



Steam 

 and Sail 

 Liners. 



Small 

 Liners. 



\ Trawl- 

 ers. 



Steam 

 and Sail 

 Liners. 



Small 

 Liners. 



All 

 Kinds. 



1905 

 1906 

 1907 

 1908 

 1909 

 1910 



Owts. 



149- 9 

 155-7 

 169-6 

 162-1 

 148-7 



150- 0 



Cwts. 

 86-9 

 74-0 

 82-4 

 103-5 

 131-3 

 167-2 



Cwts. 

 3-1 

 3-5 

 2-8 

 2-8 

 2-1 

 2-2 



£ 

 82 

 83 

 80 

 74 

 69 

 79 



£ 

 46 

 47 

 57 

 55 

 66 

 93 



£ 

 2 

 2 



2 

 1 

 1 



s. d. 



10 11 



10 8 

 9 6 

 9 1 

 9 4 



10 6 



s. d. 

 10 9 



12 9 



13 9 

 10 9 



10 1 



11 1 



«. d. 

 10 3 

 9 1 

 12 11 

 10 8 

 12 8 

 12 10 



s. d. 



10 11 



10 10 

 9 10 

 9 3 

 0 5 



10 7 



From an examination of the above table, it is at once apparent that 

 the great bulk of the white-fish supply is brought in by trawlers, and, 

 as a matter of fact, these vessels contributed, during the period 

 embraced by the table, over 88 per cent, of the total quantity landed, 

 as against 1 1 per cent, in the case of steam and sailing liners, and less 

 than 1 per cent, in the case of small liners. The supply from the last- 

 named source has declined during the period by 69 per cent., and at 

 the present time is almost a negligible quantity. Serious misgivings 

 have been entertained in recent years in fishing circles that the ever- 

 increasing extent to which trawling is being carried on is gradually 

 depleting the fish supply, but on the face of them the figures in the 

 above table do not justify these apprehensions, for the increase in the 

 supply of trawled fish (25 per cent.) is greater by 1 per cent, than the 

 increase in the number of arrivals of trawlers, while the quantity 

 landed by liners has, in ^pite of a decline of 23 per cent, in the 

 number of arrivals, increased by nearly 50 per cent. It will also be 

 seen that the average catch per trawler has remained fairly steady 

 during the period, while that of liners has nearly doubled, the great 

 increase in the latter case being explained by the fact that steam 

 liners, which are able to go much further afield and employ a much 

 greater length of lines, have continually been replacing sailing liners. 

 Many factors have, however, to be taken into consideration before the 

 question of whether the fishing grounds are being depleted or otherwise 

 can be satisfactorily answered (e.g., whether the fishing grounds are 

 changing ; whether fishing operations are increasing or decreasing in 

 intensity ; whether the means of capture have improved in efficiency ; 

 whether the proportion of small fish in the total catch is changing, &c.), 

 and it is precisely in order that these questions may be answered that 

 the statistics are now collected in such minute detail; but, important as 



