234 



Appendices to Thirty-first An7iuat Re'port 



1910 may be taken as the year in which cod-net fishing in the Moray 

 Firth became established as a regular seasonal fishing, and the landings 

 for the Moray Firth districts for the three years 1910-11-12 are shown in 

 the following table, the figures throughout being for the months January 

 to April inclusive : — 



Table showing the Quantity of Cod taken by Cod-nets in the Moray 

 Firth during the years 1910-11-12 :— 





1910. 





1911. 





1912. 





Cwts. 



£. 



Averaofe 

 price per 

 Cwt. 



Cwts. 



£. 



Average 

 price per 

 Cwt. 



Cwts. 





Average 

 price per 

 Cwt. 



Banff, . . 

 Buckie, 

 Findhorn, . 

 Cromarty, . 

 Helmsdale, 

 Wick, . . 



5,288 

 8,749 

 48,551 

 673 

 1,623 

 4,251 



2,275 

 3,680 

 16,698 

 236 

 430 

 1,452 



8/7 



8/5 



6/11 



7/ 



5/3 



6/10 



2,866 

 9,560 

 13,952 

 268 

 1,858 

 3,964 



1,297 

 4,502 

 5,798 

 88 

 627 

 1,650 



9 5 

 8/4 

 6/7 

 6/9 

 8/4 



11,352 

 17,129 

 28,492 

 721 

 1,727 

 7,039 



3,642 

 6,392 

 11,425 

 160 

 554 

 2,543 



6/5 

 7/6 



8/ 

 4/5 



6/5 



7/3 



Totals, . . 



69,135 



24,771 



7/2 



32,468 



13,962 



8/7 



66,460 



24,716 



7/5 



An examination of the above table shows that the year 1910 was the 

 most successful ; that a great falling off occurred in the following year ; 

 but that last season witnessed a revival which brought the total 

 catch back practically to the level of 1910. A perusal of the figures 

 for 1912 shows, moreover, that the fishing has grown in a greater degree 

 than the totals would indicate. Banff*, Buckie, and Wick distrcts all 

 show substantial increases upon the figures for 1910, and had the Findhorn 

 district vessels been as successful as they were in that year, the catch for 

 the current year would easily have constituted a record. 1910 appears to 

 have been a year of exceptionally heavy catches — takes of from 800 to 

 1000 fish having then been frequently landed. The success then attained 

 inspired hopes for the following year which were not fulfilled. The season 

 of 1911 was, indeed, a pronounced failure, the shoals, for some reason or 

 other, not appearing in anything like their usual densitv. Last year the 

 catches ranged between 200 and 600 fish, which, while considerably below 

 the outstanding level of 1910, were much better than those of 1911, and 

 may be considered fairly satisfactory. The great increase upon the 1911 

 catch, while mainly ascribable to the larger individual takes, may have been 

 in part due to the greater number of vessels employed, although this is 

 doubtful, as the increase occurred in sailing boats, which are less effective 

 than steamers, in which, as a matter of fact, there was a decrease. The 

 following table shows the average number of vessels employed in each 

 district during the years 1910-11-12: — 





1910. 



1911. 



1912. 





steam. 



Large 

 Sail. 



Small 

 Sail. 



steam. 



Large 

 Sail. 



Sm all 

 Sail. 



steam. 



Large 

 Sail. 



Small 

 Sail. 



Banff, . . 



Buckie, 



Findhorn, 



Cromarty, 



Helmsdale, 



Wick, . . 



11 



20 

 5 



2 



17 

 51 



10 



90 



3 

 8 



3 

 25 



3 



3 

 41 

 61 



10 



89 



4 

 12 



2 

 15 



2 



3 

 56 

 66 



12 



82 



3 

 12 





36 



80 



101 



31 



115 



t 105 



19 



137 



97 





116 





146 





156 





