226 



Affendices to Thirty-third Annual Report 



raiiutHl from about £400 downwards, a good few Ixnug below £100, and 

 the average was about £200, against ahnost £500 in 1913. While, there- 

 fore, share fishermen had a poor enough season, owners of boats and 

 nets were in a much worse position, most of them finding the balance on 

 the wrong side at the settlement. 



The market for cured hei'i-ings, which was in a rather depressed con- 

 dition at the beginning of tlie season, steadily improved as the fishing 

 progressed. The quotations at the end of each month of the fishing 

 were as follows : — 



May . 

 June . 

 July . 



Lafull. 



26s 



30s. to 33s. 

 44s. 46s. 



Full. 



24s. 



26s. to 28s. 

 35s. „ 37s. 



Matfull. 



20s. to 22s. 6d. 

 24s. „ 26s. 

 3Is. „ 33s. 



Mattie. 



18s. to 20s. 

 22s. „ 24s. 

 29s. „ 31s. 



The outbreak of war put a stop to all business with Germany, but through- 

 out the remainder of the season some purchases continued to be made 

 for America at declining rates. 



No local vessels were fitted out for curing herrings at sea during the 

 year under review. Fifteen small Scandinavian motor or sailing vessels, 

 with stock and plant for curing mackerel on board, made Lerwick their 

 headquarters during the summer, and their crews cured about 1500 barrels 

 of mackerel, which they bought from British fishermen, and afterwards 

 took home to Norway or Sweden. Local fish-curers also cured nearly 

 500 barrels on shore, in both cases a sHght increase on last year's work. 

 There was also some increase in the quantity of roused herrings sent 

 to Hamburg. 



None of the Shetland boats, steam or sail, went to the English fishing ; 

 but a Lerwick crew went to Lowestoft and man^ied and worked an English 

 drifter, making a fair enough season. 



During the spring months the landings of great-hne fish showed an 

 increase, and up to the end of July the catch of cod, Hng, etc., compared 

 very favourably with the figures for 1913. With the collapse of the 

 herring fishing, however, the landings of liandline-cauglit fish ceased, 

 with the result that the totals for 1914 fell short of the quantity landed 

 in 1913 by about 6000 cwts. This decrease was more than accounted 

 for by a shortage in the landings of saithe, while the catch of hng nearly 

 doubled; and, as prices all round were better, the value for 1914 showed 

 a slight increase over the returns for the previous year. 



Some improvement in the small-line fishing has to be recorded, the 

 quantity being about 15 per cent., and the value almost 70 per cent, 

 greater than in 1913. This improvement was entirely confined to the 

 west side, especially to Scalloway Bight, where a heavy fishing was 

 got by the motor boats in November and December, and, as the fishermen 

 there are consigning their own fish to market, they benefited by the high 

 prices current in Aberdeen. At Lerwick there was a considerable decrease 

 in the quantity and value of haddocks, and at the North Isles stations 

 this fishing was generally neglected. 



Coopers had steady and profitable employment till the outbreak of 

 war, when most of them were paid ofl^, both from the curing stations 

 and the barrel factories. Most of the younger men have since been 

 serving either in the Royal Naval Reserve or the Territorial Force. After 

 being closed for a few weeks, one of the barrel factories was reopened ; 

 and, as resident fish-curers had been re-engaging a few men to make 

 barrels, most, if not all, the coopers found employment after being but 

 a short time idle. 



Carpenters were well employed for the first 8 or 9 months of the year, 



