xvi 



Thirty -first Annual Report 



The boats from these districts operate almost entirely with the 

 seine-net, and necessarily work in pairs. It will be observed that no 

 figures are given for pairs of sail boats at Campbeltown. This is due 

 to the fact that of every pair of boats belonging to that district, at 

 least one was motor propelled, and it may safely be predicted that all 

 tlie boats engaged in the fishing will be fitted with motors before long. 



As regards boats engaged in line fishing, particulars to enable a 

 proper comparison to be made between the earnings of motor boats 

 and sail boats are, unfortunately, not available. The reports received, 

 however, are clear as to the greater earning power of the motor boats, 

 and in one district it is stated that they earned twice as much as sail 

 boats engaged at the same time. 



Conclusion. 



So far as the largest class of boat is concerned, the motor has not 

 yet taken the place which, a few years ago, it was expected to take. 

 This is no doubt partly due to the size which the steam fishing 

 fleet had attained before the marine motor engine became reliable, but, 

 with the greater flexibility of the steam engine and the capstan 

 difficulty in motor boats, it is doubtful, as matters stand at present, 

 whether any great extension of motor power to large drifters will take 

 place in the near future. 



With the smaller classes of boats which work on the inshore 

 grounds and in the West Coast lochs the conditions are different, and 

 for such the motor engine is eminently suitable. As remarked above, 

 there has been a great development in the use of motors in these boats, 

 and as the fishermen all round the coast are alive to the possibilities 

 of motor propulsion, it is probable that the next few years will 

 witness a great extension of the use of the motor in Scottish fishing 

 boats. 



FISH LANDED. 

 I. Total Catch. 



Before proceeding to discuss the statistics of fish landed, it should 

 be explained that the landings by foreign fishing vessels, which have 

 been excluded from the returns since October 1910, have been re- 

 included in the statistics for 1912. The decision to exclude them 

 was based on the assumption that such landings should be regarded 

 as imports, but the contribution of foreign vessels to the fish supply 

 has now attained such dimensions, and is growing so rapidly, as to 

 leave the Board no alternative but to re-include them, if anything 

 like an accurate picture of the total fish supply is to be presented, 

 and particularly as these vessels fish regularly from Aberdeen. 

 An improved method of tabulation has, however, been adopted, the 

 landings by foreign vessels being now shown separately, whereas 

 formerly they were included in the general figures. In order, also, that 

 a proper comparison with the preceding year's figures may be drawn, 

 the landings by foreign fishing vessels in 1911 have been included in 

 the totals for that year, as shown in the tables.- 



From a fishery point of view the year 1912 was a memorable one, 



