of the, Fishery Board for Scotland. 



xlix 



duced lo steady employment in the cooperages during the winter 

 months. 



Formerly, a good number of Scottish-made barrels, mostly second- 

 hand, were exported to Holland, but the Dutch have now apparently 

 awakened to the fact that they can make barrels for themselves, and 

 in 1910 no less than five barrel factories were established in their own 

 country. As the barrels follow the Scottish type, which is the one 

 most favoured by Continental buyers, this step will no doubt react on 

 the output of Scottish goods. 



BASKET BRANDING. 



During 1910, 39,094 quarter-cran basket measures for use in the 

 purchase and sale of fresh herrings were branded by the Board's 

 officers as in accordance with the regulations on the subject. The 

 decrease of 9599 from the total for 1909 is due partly to the accumu- 

 lation of stocks in the two previous years, and partly to the fact that 

 under the Gran Measures Act, 1908, a similar basket has been 

 adopted in the chief herring fishing districts of England. These 

 baskets, if duly stamped, are legal measures in Scotland, as the 

 Scottish ones are in England. 



It may be noted that the quarter-cran basket-making industry, 

 started in Skye in 1909, when 682 measures were branded, showed 

 substantial progress in 1910 with an output of 1033. 



MARINE SUPERINTENDENCE. 



During the past year the cruisers belonging to the Board have been 

 kept fully employed in carrying out the superintendence of the sea 

 fisheries around the Scottish coasts. H.M.S. " Ringdove " has again 

 been the only Naval vessel available for Scotland, and during the 

 great summer herring fishery this vessel was employed chiefly in 

 maintaining order in harbours in Shetland (principally Lerwick and 

 Baltasound), while during the rest of the year she was engaged largely 

 in connection with the foreign trawlers in the Moray Firth, except 

 for the time absent at Aberdeen and Devonport for repairs and over- 

 haul. The Board's vessels have been actively employed on the same 

 general stations as last year — the " Norna " in Orkney and Shetland 

 and on the North Coast, the Freya " in the Moray Firth, the 

 " Brenda " on the East Coast and in the Firth of Forth, the " Minna " 

 on the West Coast and among the Islands, and the "Vigilant" in the 

 Clyde Estuary. When circumstances required, however, the Board's 

 cruisers were shifted about on the various stations on patrol, and 

 relieved one another from time to time. The following table gives a 

 short summary of some of the routine work done during the year : — 



Name of Cruiser. 



No. of Days 



No. of Knots 



No. of Traw- 



No. of Boats 





at Sea. 



Steamed. 



lers Detected. 



Detained.* 



" Norna," 



269 



21,559 



6 



152 



" Freya," 



274 



17,989 



11 



262 



" Minna," 



" Brenda," - 



221 



14,870 



K /I Steam, \ 

 ^ V4Sail. ) 



193 



253 



17,819 



4 



407 



*' Vigilant," - 



282 



15,532 



19 (Sail) 



47 



* In connection with Lettering, &c., Regulations and CoUiaion Regulations. 



