of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



259 



proximity of many of the " dippers " or tanks to the river or its tributaries. 

 The first intimation I received of the matter was by a letter from the 

 Clerk to the District Fishery Board, reporting that a dipper containing 

 about 100 gallons of fluid had been emptied into the Pinwhapple Burn, 

 as a result of which every fish (including eels) for a distance of three and a 

 half miles had been killed. This burn happens to be one of the important 

 spawning tributaries of the river Girvan. 



Subsequently I received a list of all the dippers situated in the water- 

 shed, and found that they number 22. This list will be found appended 

 to the Report from the Clerk of the Girvan District Fishery Board. 

 It seems necessary for the District Board to take steps to have the purity 

 of the tributaries respected, and care taken that the dip used be put out 

 upon the land. 



Statistics op Salmon Catch. 



To any official concerned in the general superintendence of the salmon 

 fisheries, the need for reference to statistics of catch of salmon is clamant. 

 When asked to report, it may be, on proposed changes in this or that 

 district, changes which may affect the general interests and stock of 

 salmon, the most urgent requirement is to secure a clear understanding 

 of the conditions which exist, and their results upon the general interests 

 and stock of salmon in the past. This cannot be obtained at present. 

 We receive from the various Railway Companies a return of the weight 

 of salmon carried from all stations, this return being given gratuitously 

 and after considerable labour of an extra kind on the part of railway clerks. 

 It is a very valuable return, since it is frequently the only one we have 

 from which any deduction can be made, apart from personal knowledge 

 picked up by the Inspector of Salmon Fisheries when going his rounds, 

 as to the increase or decrease of the stock of salmon in a district. It is, 

 however, subject to rather serious limitations in its application. In 

 districts where grilse are in the majority, weights give little indication 

 of numbers. Weights given from the Tay District, for instance, where 

 fish are heavy, bear no relation whatever to weights given from districts 

 in the North of Scotland, especially on the Pentland Firth shore, where 

 eight or ten little grilse will be caught for every salmon. Another limita- 

 tion is due to the fact that in many districts where the railway station is 

 many miles from the fishings, salmon are carted from a number of different 

 places, and not infrequently from a separate district to that in which 

 the railway station is situated. The catches of different places being 

 thus intermingled it is quite impossible to make deductions of any 

 value. 



The objection on the part of salmon tacksmen to giving regular returns 

 is that their rents will be affected. None the less in the case of all Crown 

 fishings now let, the rendering of an annual statement of catch is made 

 obligatory, and similarly, certain proprietors let their fishings with this 

 condition attached. I am greatly indebted to the Office of Woods for 

 allowing me to receive copies of the returns sent to the London Office, 

 although these returns may not be used except for my own information. 

 Certain proprietors and tenants are also quite willing that I should have 

 this class of information provided it is regarded as confidential. If 

 every one gave the like confidential information, one would be perfectly 

 satisfied. There is no particular reason why such information should be 

 published, and if any such information were published, it should onlv be 

 done in such a way as to obviate any deductions as to the results from 

 individual fishings— a matter of no difficulty. 



As an example of the sort of information with which I am favoured 



