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Twenty-ninth Annual Report 



The hulls, boilers, and machinery of the cruisers have been all 

 maintained in good order and condition, and no serious accidents have 

 occurred. As some of the vessels with steel hulls and high-pressure 

 boilers get older, more expense is incurred in repairs and renewals, 

 and during the past year considerable outlay had to be incurred with 

 the " Brenda," among other items being a new funnel and boiler-casing. 



ENQUIEIES INTO COMPLAINTS OF DAMAGE TO 

 BOATS OE GEAE. 

 Appendix K, No. I., gives details of the complaints made to the 

 Board's officers of injuries done by fishing boats to the boats, nets, 

 lines, or other gear of fishermen. It also shows the action taken 

 under the powers conferred by the Sea Fisheries (Scotland) Amend- 

 ment Act, 1885, and the result so far as known in each instance. It 

 should be kept in mind that this Act confers no power on officers to 

 award damages, but only to inquire into complaints and assess the 

 amount of damage. Much good has been done, however, through the 

 facilities thus afforded of effecting amicable settlements through an 

 independent official, and so preventing bitterness or resort to the law 

 courts. 



The number of cases recorded for 1910 is 36, a decrease of 10 from 

 1909, and of 21 from 1908. Considering the large number of fishing 

 craft engaged around the coasts of Scotland, and the congestion near 

 some of the chief ports at certain seasons of the year, these figures are 

 a tribute to the care and orderliness of the crews engaged. 



As usual, a large number of the complaints, 15 for the period of 

 this Eeport, were against trawlers. In one of these cases, however, 

 the respondent was found not in fault ; in another, the evidence was 

 conflicting ; and in a third case the damage appeared to be unavoid- 

 able. One serious case, in which a foreign trawler was involved, and 

 which, therefore, does not, properly speaking, come within the scope of 

 the Act above referred to, deserves special mention. The police authori- 

 ties at Ijmuiden discovered what appeared to be stolen gear on board 

 a trawler which had arrived from the Moray Firth, and on the marks 

 on the gear being communicated to the Board it was found possible to 

 identify the owners as a crew belonging to Findhorn district who had 

 been aware at the time that the offender was a foreign trawler, but 

 who had been unable to secure sufficient evidence to make it worth 

 while reporting the vessel. The Board then represented the case 

 fully, through the Foreign Office, to the Dutch Government, who were 

 good enough to secure full compensation to the fishermen, including a 

 sum for loss of fishing, the amount paid over being £56. 



As regards the other 11 complaints against trawlers, partial or 

 complete reparation was made in all except one case. The total 

 damage was assessed at £158 4s., and of this £121 15s. was paid, 

 including two instances in which the full claims of £48 5s. and £30 

 respectively were discharged. 



In 12 of the remaining cases a settlement was arrived at, no less 

 than £95 6s. lOd. being paid in respect of claims amounting to 

 about £100. In most instances the officer's decision was accepted 

 without demur, but the amounts involved were ordinarily small. One 

 sum of £20 was paid for the effects of a collision, and another claim 

 of £40 1 6s. was met in full after the case had been brought to Court, 

 but before it went to trial. 



