of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



253 



REPORT FROM TAY DISTRICT. 



Take of Pish - 



1. The Board has no means of obtaining information on this point. 



2. The numbei of fish taken was : — 



(a) By fixed engine — Under the average. 

 (6) By sweep net — Under the average. 



(c) By rod and line — Spring fishing good ; autumn fishing poor. 



3. Particulars as to the times grilse and sea trout appeared are as follow : — 



Sea trout appeared at the opening of the net fishing ; grilse on 3rd 

 J une. 



4. The weight of the heaviest salmon taken during the season was 56^ lbs. 

 The particulars of time and place of capture are: — Last week in June, 



on the Tay, 4 miles below Perth. 



Protection— 



1. The assessable rental for 1912 was £23,686 15s. 



2. The assessment levied was £1651 Is. 7d. 



3. The water bailiffs employed are 23 in number. 



4. Particulars as to prosecutions instituted are briefly as follow : — Number 



of cases tried, 24 ; number of persons involved, 35. Fines paid, 8 ; 

 imprisoned, 18 ; not yet settled, 8 ; total convicted, 34 ; not proven, 1 — 

 total, 35. During the Avinter of 1911-12 the Tay maintained a fairly 

 heavy flow of water, with the result that there were fewer opportunities 

 for off"ences under the Act. The majority of ofi"ences now consist of 

 persons taking or attempting to take sick fish which drift into the 

 shallow waters of the river. 



Obstructions to the Passage of Pish— 



1. Dam dykes disused, built, or in prospect: — No change. 



2. Are the bye-laws observed in every case ? — So far as known, yes. 



3. Fish passes built or in prospect : — No new work undertaken this last 



season, but further operations have been carried out at the Falls of 

 Tummel with the view of improving the intake to the pass and tho 

 depth of water in the pass. Further operations are contemplated. 



4. Natural obstructions not yet dealt with : — Those undealt with are of 



small value to the fishery. Communications have, however, been opened 

 with the proprietors of Dunalastair Falls and Dalcroy dam dyke for 

 the opening up of these obstructions, but it is not anticipated mean- 

 time that much progress will be made in that direction. The 

 proprietors concerned appear to hold that if salmon were there at the 

 times when the conditions are suitable for running them these 

 obstructions would not be insurmountable. 



Pollutions— 



1. The existing pollutions are the same as formerly reported. These are 



increasing in volume as the means of household sanitation improve. 



2. Remedial measures : — There has been no change in these in the district 



since the last report. 



The Salmon Disease— 



1. The river was never free of diseased fish during the whole year. 



2. The numbers of diseased fish taken from the river and destroyed are 



estimated as follows : — 



Males. Females. 

 Kelts, ... 800 500 300 



Clean, ... 20 



The Spawning Season— 



1. Fish were first noticed spawning on 27th October. 



2. The greatest number spawned in December. 



3. Spawning ceased at end of January. 



4. As regards numbers of breeding fish, and state of the water, the past 



spawning season is regarded as fairly good. The fish Avere a good 

 average, but the water was a shade heavier during spawning season than 

 usual. 



