of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



171 



wise and judicious to send some one well-versed in the methods of cure 

 and assortment practised in Scotland to visit the Continental markets 

 and curing-establishments, in order to study on the spot the modes of 

 cure, the assortment, packing, &c. This course is urged in many Reports, 

 and especially by Acting Vice-Consul Reid of Stettin, who has a very 

 wide practical knowledge of the requirements of the markets. Other 

 countries have taken similar steps. Sweden has a permanent agent in 

 Germany, and Consul Joachim Anderssen was recently sent from Norway as 

 a Special Commissioner to inquire into and report upon the German 

 markets, with the view of obtaining all information possible to aid in 

 pushing the trade in Norwegian herrings. When it is borne in mind that 

 the herring trade is the backbone of the Scottish fishery industry ; that 

 the mainstay of the herring-fishery is the export trade to the Continent ; 

 and that the prosperity of this trade is threatened by the keenest foreign 

 competition, it will be evident that effective remedial measures should 

 be taken as speedily as possible. 



I IT. — ABSTRACT OF REPORTS BY MR THOMAS SCOTT ON 

 HIS SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS ON BOARD STEAM 

 TRAWLERS. (Prepared by T. Wemyss Fulton, M.B.) 



In addition to superintending the routine work on the 1 Garland, ' Mr 

 Scott was requested to undertake special trips occasionally on board 

 steam beam trawlers working off the East Coast, mainly for the purpose of 

 comparing the results with those obtained by the ' Garland ' in the inshore 

 waters. The chief points inquired into were : — ( 1 ) the presence of ripe fish ; 

 (2) the distribution of large and small fish; (3) the presence of floating 

 fish eggs. 



I. Moray Firth. 



The first trip (January 21-24, 1889). was to the important fishing 

 ground, the Smith Bank, which lies off the Caithness Coast, about 

 15 or 16 miles east of the Ord of Caithness. This bank, which is much 

 resorted to by trawlers, is of irregular shape, and has an extreme length 

 of about 7 miles, and an extreme breadth of about 5 miles. The depth of 

 water over the bank averages about 20 fathoms ; the bottom consists 

 chiefly of sand. The steam trawler which Mr Scott accompanied on this 

 trip was the ' Southesk,' which has a trawl beam of 51 feet. During the 

 4 days the 'Southesk' was engaged on, or in the vicinity of, Smith 

 Bank, about 17 hauls of the trawl were made, none of the takes being, 

 however, very large. 



Flat Fish. — Among the flat fish caught, plaice were by far the most 

 numerous, and generally of large size, the smallest obtained not being less 

 than 12 inches, while the majority ranged from 16 or 18 to 27 inches in 

 length. The greater number of those under 20 inches were males, and 

 the greater number of those over 20 inches were females. The reproduc- 

 tive organs of both males and females were nearly or fully mature, a 

 large number of the fish were spawning, and a considerable number were 

 spent.* 



* On the 16th of February Mr Scott examined at Montrose 6 boxes of plaice, 

 caught a little south of Smith Bank, and found a number of them, both males and 

 females, quite ripe or partly spent, showing that plaice were still spawning in the 

 Moray Firth at that date. 



