1^*4 Appendices to Thirty-third Annual Report 



A start was made at the lierrinp; fishinp; about the middle of June, but 

 the cateli lauded for the first few weeks was meagre. Towards the end 

 of July, however,' matters improved, and the prospects of a successful 

 season then \vere never more encouraging. Unfortunately, however, 

 just when herrings were being located in large shoals from 18 to 32 miles 

 south-east by east of Scurdviiess, war broke out, with the result that 

 operations at once ceased. The season's catch was therefore very light, 

 totalling only 4302 crans, valued at £4078, as compared with 3668 crans 

 and £5773 in the preceding year, which was the poorest on record. 



The quality of the herrings landed was invariably good, particularly 

 of those landed in the latter part of July. The season's average price 

 per cran was 18s. ll-|-d., as against 31s. 5d. per cran in the previous year. 

 The number of barrels cured gutted was 3155, of which most were con- 

 signed in September to Archangel where they are still lying unsold. Only 

 368 barrels of herrings were on hand in the district at the end of the year. 



It was rather fortunate for fishcurers as matters turned out that their 

 season's cure was not a big one. Had hostilities been a month later in 

 beginning they would in all probabihty have been left with a large stock 

 of cured herrings, for which they would have likely paid liigh prices owing 

 to the continental markets at the end of July being in a healthy state, 

 as the immerous enquiries for herrings showed. Fishermen were in a 

 way the main sufferers, but with praiseworthy adaptability they loyally 

 accepted the rather severe conditions arising from the war. At the close 

 of the herring fishing they took to small-line fishing, and any employment 

 on shore they could secure. Fears were at first entertained that fishermen 

 and their dependants might feel seriously the closing of the herring fishing, 

 but owing to the perseverance of the men and their thrifty habits they 

 were invariably able to earn a fair wage from small-line fishing and shore 

 work. There appears to be little danger, therefore, of any destitution 

 being prevalent amongst them so long as they are permitted to engage at 

 line fishing. About 300 district fishermen M^ere at the end of the year 

 engaged on Naval Service. 



Sprat fishing, which usually continues in the Tay during the months 

 of November, December, and January, was fortunately a marked success 

 in the latter months of the year, and it must have proved a great boon to 

 the fishermen interested, who all belong to creeks in the Firth of Tay. 

 The season's catch was 2596 crans, valued at £2313, as against 730 crans 

 and £217 in 1913. Never in the history of this fishing were such high 

 prices realised at Dundee for sprats as was the case in December, when 

 as much as 42s. a cran was paid, while the average price per cran for that 

 month was 28s. 2d. The increased demand was mainly caused by the 

 scarcity of herrings in the Enghsh markets, to which almost all the sprats 

 were consigned. 



Small-line fishing was pursued during the latter part of the year with 

 much greater energy and by more crews than in recent years, owing to 

 the fact that none of the boats went to the East Anglian herring fishing. 

 Then the increased number of motor boats at work helped matters con- 

 siderably in many respects. When the weather conditions were suitable 

 — and with the exception of a stormy period in December they were 

 generally so — fishermen were able to make a good weekly wage by working 

 lines, notably those crews who were in motor boats. Sixty-four motor 

 boats and about 85 sailers were engaged at this fishing. The largest 

 numbers of motor boats were employed from Gourdon, Montrose, and 

 Arbroath, the respective numbers being 22, 10, aiid 27. The catches of 

 the motor craft were always more than double those of the sailers. The 

 advent of the motor line skiff has undoubtedly raised the importance of 

 line fishing among the district fishermen, and will tend to revive the 



