24 



Part III. — Seventh Annual Report 



21,494 cwts. in 1888, or a gross increase of 1168 cwts. The average 

 per 'shot' for this district was 1-73 in 1887 and 2*20 in 1888, showing 

 a very considerable increase in the latter year. Thus in the region 

 comprising the Firth of Forth and St Andrews Bay, the region where 

 beam-trawling was first interdicted, there was in 1888 a considerable 

 increase in the quantity of fish obtained. 



In the closed portion of the Montrose district the quantity of line fish 

 caught in 1887 was 2923 cwts., and in 1888, 3360 cwts., an increase of 

 437 cwts. When the number of trips is taken into account it is found 

 that the average per ' shot ' for 1887 was 2*37 cwts., and for 1888, 2*59 cwts., 

 showing a fair increase per 'shot.' In the open area of the Montrose 

 district the quantity of fish obtained in 1887 was 11,832 cwts., and in 

 1888, 24,050 cwts., an increase of 12,218 cwts. The average per 'shot' 

 for the two years is 1*98 cwt. and 3*55 cwts. respectively. 



In the Stonehaven district there are no records for 1887, but in 1888 

 the quantity obtained was 8970 cwts., giving an average per 'shot' of 2*12 

 cwts. 



It is thus obvious that there occurred in 1888 a general increase in 

 the productiveness of the territorial waters in all the districts, and that 

 certain districts participated in this increase much more than others, as 

 is shown in the following Table, which gives the average per ' shot ' in 

 cwts. for the two years. 





Leith. 



Anstruther. 



Montrose 

 (closed). 



Montrose 

 (unclosed). 



Stonehaven. 



1887 



1-89 



173 



2-37 



1-98 





1888 



1-96 



2-20 



2-59 



3-55 



2-12 



It is desirable now to consider to what degree the increased productive- 

 ness referred to has been brought about by an increase in the different 

 kinds of fish obtained. Taking the fish given in the Table, it will be 

 found that cod were caught in much greater numbers in the territorial 

 waters in 1888 than in 1887, and this is true of all the districts. There 

 was a considerable increase in the catch of cod in the Leith and 

 Anstruther districts, a slight increase in the closed part of the Montrose 

 district, and a great increase in the unclosed portion of this district 

 (0*964 cwt. as compared with 0*125 cwt. in 1887). The averages per 

 ' shot ' for the two years in the whole closed area are 0*409 cwt. in 1877, 

 and 0*608 cwt. in 1888. For the unclosed area the corresponding aver- 

 ages are 0*125 cwt. and 0*649 cwt. 



Whitings were also as a rule obtained in greater numbers in 1888 than 

 in 1887. There was a considerable increase in the Leith district, and 

 in the closed portion of the Montrose district, but there was a 

 decrease in the open part of this district, and in the Anstruther district, 

 The average per 'shot' for the whole closed area in 1887 was 0*064 cwt., 

 while in 1888 it was 0*15 cwt. For the unclosed area the average for 

 1887 was 0*447 cwt., and in 1888, 0*414 cwt. There was thus a con- 

 siderable increase of whiting in the closed area, and a slight decrease in 

 the open area. 



Of haddocks there was a slight decrease in the Leith and Anstruther 

 districts, a slight increase in the closed part of the Montrose district, and 



