of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



239 



fishing, but perhaps the greatest obstacle to its development is the 

 indifference of the participants themselves. The mackerel fishing season 

 coincides with the herring fishing season, and none of the fishermen will 

 trouble to fish for mackerel while herrings are to be obtained. As regards 

 the buyers, there is every reason to believe that if sufficient ice were 

 used no danger of condemnation on arrival at the markets need be feared, 

 yet notwithstanding the provision of ice at Kyle of Lochalsh, the buyers, 

 the local fishery ofiicer states, will only ice their fish on Fridays and 

 Saturdays, thus courting disaster. The preference of the fishermen for 

 herring fishing, again, reacts unfavourably on the curing industry, since a 

 large number fish foi- mackerel with herring nets, the meshes of which are 

 too small to capture the larger sizes of mackei-el, which best repay curing. 



Nevertheless, it is to the curing industry one must look for any develop- 

 ment of the mackerel fisheiy, and in this connection the rapid progress 

 which has been made by the Norwegians affords an inspiring example. 

 The great market for cured mackerel is the United States of America, 

 and up to the year 1887 it was supplied by the native fishermen and curers, 

 but in the following year the American fishery failed, and from that time on- 

 wards has gone from bad to woise until now it is almost extinct. Both Ire- 

 land and Norway seized the opportunity to gain a footing in the United 

 States markets, but at first the Norwegian product did not make much head- 

 way, and the Irish curers secured the great bulk of the trade. The Nor- 

 wegians thereupon set themselves to improve their methods of cure, and so 

 successful have their efforts been that the best Norwegian mackerel now 

 realise from two to three times more than the best Irish, the prices 

 quoted at New York in August 1912 being, for the former, 31 dollars, 

 and for the latter 13| dollars. 



What has been accomplished by the Norwegians ought not to be beyond 

 the capabilities of Scottish curers, who have established a world-wide 

 reputation for heiring curing. But if they are to compete successfully 

 with the Norwe'gian product, the necessity of adopting Norwegian 

 methods of cure cannot be too strongly insisted upon. The Irish Depart- 

 ments concerned have not been slow to recognise this, and Scottish 

 mackerel curers would be well advised to consult the report of the 

 Irish Congested Districts Board for 1911, to be obtained through H.M. 

 Stationery Ofiice, price 5d. In that report it is stated that the gloomy con- 

 dition of the Irish pickled mackerel trade makes it necessary for curers to 

 decide whether they will abandon the industry or adopt the methods of 

 Norwegian curers, whose fourth, or poorest quality of mackerel, as a rule, 

 obtains a higher price in the United States than the best Irish mackerel ; 

 and exhaustive instructions as to the proper methods of curing and 

 marketing follow. The principal points on which stress is laid are : — 



(1) Only good new barrels, holding 210 lbs. of fish, should be used. 



(2) The fish must be absolutely fresh when cured. Unless this is the 



case the flesh, no matter how carefully the fish may be treated 

 otherwise, will not turn out white in cure. 



(3) The fish should be carefully graded as follows : — 



No, 1 Grade, 175 to 185 fish to the barrel. 



2 „ 220 „ 260 



3 „ 300 „ 350 



4 „ 400 „ 450 



