xxxviii 



Thirty-third Annual Report 



steam, motor, and sail boats respectvely, as compared with £239, 

 £566, and £327 in 1913, and many of the boats barely cleared expenses. 



FISH USED FRESH. 



The estimated quantity of fish sold for consumption in Scotland in 

 a fresh state, or dispatched fresh from Scotland to the English markets 

 during the year 1914, will be found under Appendix C (p. 126). 



Generally speaking, the proportion of the total landings which is 

 consumed fresh shows little variation from year to year, and the fluc- 

 tuation in the catch of the various species are consequently usually 

 reflected in the Appendix under discussion. Thus, during the year 

 under review a decline is observable in all the species which show re- 

 duced landings in Appendix B, No. II., with the exception of herrings, 

 while an increase is seen in 10 out of the 12 varieties of which an in- 

 creased catch was secured, the exceptions being torsk and catfish. The 

 increased consumption of fresh herrings was due to the cessation of 

 curing after the outbreak of war, as a result of which considerable 

 efforts were made to expand the home markets, while the decreased 

 consumption of torsk and catfish is explained by the increased demand 

 for these fish for filleting purposes. 



In all, it is estimated that 1,956,312 cwts. of fish were disposed of in 

 a fresh state, as compared with 1,961,853 cwts. in 1913, this quantity 

 representing 26 per cent, of the total quantity landed, as against 25 

 per cent, in the preceding year. The largest individual contributor 

 was cod and codlings, which constituted 20*5 per cent, of the whole, 

 followed by haddocks (20 per cent.), herrings (19 per cent.), flat fish 

 (10 per cent.), skate (7*6 per cent.), and whitings (7 '2 per cent.). 



The extent to which the three first-mentioned species preponderate 

 in the total landings will be realised when it is stated that although the 

 proportion consumed fresh constitutes a mere fraction of the total 

 catch of these species (about Jth) this fraction nevertheless represents 

 60 per cent, of the total quantity so disposed of. 



FISH CURED AND EXPORTED. 

 I. Herrings. 



After many years of uninterrupted progress the Scottish herring 

 curing industry has, through the outbreak of war in Europe, received 

 a serious check. How serious this is may be gauged from the fact 

 that fully 90 per cent, of the total cure has for many years been 

 disposed of in Russia, Germany, and Austria. Hostilities broke 

 out just as the season was reaching its height, and while a fair pro- 

 portion of the cure had already reached the ports of Germany and 

 Russia, the bulk remained in the hands of the curer. The stock so 

 remaining was about 314,000 barrels, and at the end of the year it 

 was ascertained that about 75 per cent, had been exported to Russia 

 and Norway and Sweden. 



At 31st March 1915, this stock had been further reduced to 63,571 

 barrels. The industry is fortunately endowed with strong recuperative 

 powers, as witness its recovery from the severe checks suffered (1) 

 through the stoppage of the trade with the West Indies in the early 



