of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



19 



caught in the waters where trawling is prohibited and in the adjoining 

 waters in the following districts : — Leith, Anstruther, Montrose, Stone- 

 haven, and Aberdeen. Certain of the returns, however, refer only to 

 some of these districts or to parts of them, as will be described below. 

 It is obvious, therefore, that the statistics of the fish obtained in the 

 waters lying off so large and varied a part of the East Coast deserve 

 careful consideration. 



The statistical information obtained is embodied in four different 

 series of Tables. Table D. (p. 103), represents the quantities of large 

 haddocks, small haddocks, and whiting, and of cod landed monthly by 

 the Buckhaven boats in 1887 and 1888, and gives the average amount of 

 each kind of fish per trip or ' shot.' Table E. (p. 104) shows the relative 

 amounts and value of fish landed monthly by net and line boats and 

 by steam beam-trawl boats in the Leith, Anstruther, Montrose, Stone- 

 haven, and Aberdeen districts. These returns have been supplemented 

 by returns from all the other districts on the East Coast of Scotland ; 

 the information thus obtained is summarily set forth in Table H. (p. 157), 

 and graphically represented on Plate II. Table F. (p. 118) gives the 

 monthly quantities of net and line fish caught within the territorial 

 waters (where beam-trawling may or may not be prohibited) in the 

 Leith, Anstruther, Montrose, and Stonehaven districts, with particulars 

 as to the number and size of the boats fishing in the territorial and 

 extra-territorial waters, the kind of bait used, &c. Table G.*(p. 155) 

 shows the monthly takes of cod, haddock, and whiting by 40 East Coast 

 boats distinguishing the distance from the shore where the fish were 

 obtained. This Table is an epitome of the returns for 1888, correspond- 

 ing to Table G. of the Sixth Annual Eeport. Eor want of space it has 

 been found impossible to publish these records in detail. 



1. Buckhaven Haddock and Cod Line Fishery. 



The statistics referring to this fishery are given at page 103, and show 

 the takes of small haddocks and whiting, of large haddocks, and of cod, 

 the number of days' fishing per month, and the total number of 1 shots ' 

 per month ; the average number of fish per ' shot ' in each month of the 

 year is also given. Although these statistics refer only to the fish caught 

 by the boats of one fishing village, they are of special value as showing 

 the relative proportions of large and small fish captured. When the 

 total catch of large haddocks is compared in 1887 and 1888, it will be 

 seen that in 1888 there was a great increase, the average per ' shot ' being 

 42*8 and 62*6 respectively. 



The increase was riot, however, uniform during the various months of 

 the year. In fact, during each of the first six months, January to June, 

 the amounts landed were less, and sometimes considerably less, than in 

 1877. On the other hand, during the last six months, July to December, 

 the monthly average in 1888 was very much greater than in the corre- 

 sponding months of 1887. 



In 1888 the highest monthly average was reached in October (99*4 

 fish per 'shot') and the lowest in March; in 1877 the highest average 

 was in June (97*4) and the lowest in December. 



The takes of small haddocks and whiting (under 1 2 inches) also increased 

 in 1888, but not to the same degree as the large haddocks. The average 

 was 208-9 per 'shot' in 1887, and 2284 in 1888. The somewhat 

 remarkable fact is brought out, that the average number of small haddocks 

 and whiting taken in each of the first six months of 1888 was much greater 



