238 



Appendices to Thirty-first Anmial Report 



APPENDIX N. 



THE MINCH MACKEREL FISHERY. 



Although mackerel are found all round the coast of Scotland, the Minch 

 is the only locality in which an organised mackerel fishery may be said to 

 exist, and the efforts which have been made to develop a Scottish mackerel 

 fishing have all been concentrated upon that quarter. Some years ago the 

 Fishery Board and the Congested Districts Board, M^orking in concert, 

 equipped a number of boats with mackerel nets, and distributed a 

 pamphlet of instructions for curing, while later they arranged for the 

 erection of an ice store at Kyle of Lochalsh. For a time it looked as if 

 their efforts to foster the industry were to be crowned with success, as by 

 the year 1907 the fleet operating from Kyle, where in 1899 only a single 

 boat had been engaged, had increased to 68 vessels. That year, however, 

 appears to have marked the culminating point of the fishing, as since then 

 the number of boats fitting out annually has greatly declined. The 

 progress of the fishing since 1906 may best be gauged from the following 

 table : — 





STORNOWAY. 



BARRA. 



LOCHCARRON & SKYE. 



YEAR. 



Catch 



Value 



Aver. 

 Price 



Bar- 

 rels 



Catch 



Value 



Aver. 



Price 



Bar- 

 rels 



Catch 



Value 



Aver. 

 Price 



Bar- 

 rels 





Cwts. 



£. 



per 

 Cwt. 



Cur'd. 



Cwts. 



£. 



per 

 Cwt. 



Cur'd. 



Cwts. 



£. 



per 

 Cwt. 



Cur'd. 









s. d. 









s. d. 









s. d. 





1906 . . . . 



3,610 



1,453 



8 0 





4,603 



716 



3 1 



1,304 



8,219 



3,111 



7 7 



85 



1907 . . . . 



.5,871 



1,335 



4 7 



698 



2,640 



268 



2 0 



445 



13,866 



4,209 



6 1 



235 



1908 . . . . 



8,168 



1,310 



3 2 



587 



1,599 



220 



2 9 



565 



5,418 



1,623 



6 0 



240 



1909 . . . . 



9,015 



2,575 



5 8 



895 



2,189 



250 



2 3 



378 



3,270 



1,103 



6 9 





1910 . . . . 



8,892 



1,893 



4 3 



926 



2,108 



117 



1 1 



397 



8,927 



2,066 



4 7 





1911 . . . . 



5,000 



1,055 



4 2 



640 



987 



72 



1 5 



161 



6,314 



1,121 



3 7 





1912 .. .. 



6,218 



681 



2 2 



;i,500 



5,436 



134 



6 



179 



5,066 



1,070 



4 3 



178 



These figures call for little comment, as it is obvious that since 1909, 

 when the matter was last reported upon, the fishing has made little or no 

 progress. Perhaps the most unsatisfactory feature is the pronounced fall 

 in prices, particularly in Barra district. In that district it was due to 

 the poor quality of the fish, which on that account failed to find purchasers, 

 and had in consequence to be disposed of to a manure factory. The only 

 satisfactory feature of the return is the increase in the quantity cured at 

 Stornoway, which appears to indicate that some effort is being made to 

 develop this branch of the industry. 



But, in view of the disabilities under which the Minch mackerel fishing 

 labours, it is doubtful whether under present conditions any great develop- 

 ment can be expected. The principal drawback is the great distance of the 

 fishing grounds from the markets in which the fish is sold. There is little 

 or no demand for mackerel in Scotland, and the fish have in consequence 

 to be sent to London and other English centres, the freight rates to which 

 are so high that if the buyers are to compete with the supplies landed 

 from Milford Haven and otlier West of England ports, they can afford to 

 pay only the lowest prices to the fishermen. Again, perhaps no fish 

 deteriorates so rapidly as the mackerel, and it has frequently happened 

 that consignments, on reaching their destination, have been condemned as 

 unfit for food, even although they may have been packed in ice. There 

 is thus little inducement to either buyers or fishermen to engage in this 



