of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



xxiii 



Clyde the relatively large increase of 2858 cwts., or 43 per cent, 

 occurred, dense shoals having been present in Lochfyne during the 

 summer. In point of fact, the only decrease took place on the East 

 Coast, where there is no organised fishing, the capture of mackerel 

 being merely incidental to herring and trawl fishings. 



III. Demersal Fish, taken by Trawl, Lines, and Nets. 



The total quantity of demersal fish landed in Scotland in 1912 was 

 3,331,799 cwts., which realised £1,666,380. As regards quantity, this 

 total is second only to the record catch of 1911, which it falls short of 

 by 59,517 cwts., or less than 2 per cent., while in point of value the 

 figures are the highest ever recorded, exceeding the preceding year's 

 total by £125,841, or 8 per cent. Of the total catch, 2,392,692 cwts., 

 valued at £1,232,193, were taken by trawls ; 835,424 cwts., valued at 

 £394,375, by lines; and 103,683 cwts., valued at £39,812, by set-nets, 

 the corresponding figures for 1911 being 2,439,108 cwts. and £1,113,820 

 for trawls, 882,757 cwts. and £397,546 for lines, and 69,451 cwts. 

 and £29,173 for nets. It will thus be seen that the decrease in 

 quantity is referable to the catch by trawls and lines, as the quantity 

 taken by nets was nearly doubled ; and that the increase in value is 

 referable to trawl and net caught fish in the ratio of 11 : 1. 



The gratifying financial results of the year's operations were attri- 

 butable to the improved demand for all kinds of fish in 1912, as a result 

 of which the fleet of trawlers was in full employment all the year, 

 while the quantity of fish sold as manure was comparatively small. 

 For the deficiency in the landings, the coal strike, the labour dispute 

 at Granton, and stormy weather were largely responsible. 



One of the most striking features of the returns is the large propor- 

 tion of the white-fish catch which is landed by foreign fishing vessels — 

 mainly German trawlers working from Aberdeen. The latter vessels 

 specialise in the Icelandic fishing, which, doubtless owing to their 

 possessing a more intimate knowledge of the grounds, they appear to 

 be able to prosecute to greater advantage than the home craft ; and their 

 catches, which consist mainly of cod, now form the mainstay of the 

 dried-fish curing industry at Aberdeen. The quantity of demersal 

 fish landed by these vessels in 1912 amounted to 469,213 cwts., or 

 14 per cent, of the whole, valued at £137,727, as compared with 

 336,217 cwts. and £82,564 in the preceding year. 



(a) RGUNI) FISH. 



The total quantity of round fish landed in 1912 was 2,974,897 cwts., 

 valued at £1,304,490, these figures representing a decrease of 39,512 

 cwts. in quantity, but an increase of £124,613 in value, as compared 

 with the figures for 1911. The value constitutes an easy record for 

 this class of fish. The falling-off in quantity was almost equally dis- 

 tributed between trawl and line caught fish, the decreases from last 

 year's figures amounting to 38,163 cwts. and 37,543 cwts. respectively 

 (although the decline was, of course, relatively much greater in the 

 latter case), these decreases being to some extent counterbalanced by 

 an increase in net-caught fish, amounting to 36,194 cwts. The quan- 



