xvi 



Thirty -eighth Annual Report 



Whaling. 



The prohibition of whaUng operations in Shetland and Hebridean 

 waters was again continued by order of the Admiralty. 



Feehng in the herring fishing industry has been hostile to whaling 

 in Shetland practically since its inception, and soon after the conclusion 

 of the Armistice in 1918, representations began to be received by the 

 Board urging that the prohibition of whahng in Shetland waters, 

 which had been enforced as a war measure, should be made permanent. 

 These protests were not confined to Shetland, but were received from 

 practically every Fishery Association in Scotland, and in view of 

 the strength of the feehng manifested, the Board came to the con- 

 clusion that the time had arrived for a further inquiry into the 

 whole question of whaling in Scottish waters. 



The Board accordingly appointed a Committee of their members to 

 carry out the inquiry, and evidence was taken from representatives 

 of all sections of the herring fishing industry and of the whaling in- 

 terests at sittings held in Shetland, Peterhead, and Edinburgh. The 

 Committee, whose report* was issued in December, recommended 

 unanimously that whaling operations should be prohibited in Shet- 

 land, and that the Whale Fisheries (Scotland) Act, 1907, should be 

 so amended as to give effect to this recommendation. 



Loans to Ex-Service Fishermen for the Purchase of Motor 



Fishing Boats. 



Very soon after the conclusion of the Armistice appeals for assistance 

 to enable demobilised fishermen to resume their occupation began to 

 be received from all parts of the coast. These appeals were based on 

 the ground that owing to the deterioration of boats which had neces- 

 sarily had to be left unattended during their owners' absence on 

 service, the shortage of boats was such that many men found them- 

 selves unable to find berths on those which were still fit for sea, while 

 at the same time the output of new boats was almost in abeyance, 

 and the price of those which were being built was beyond the unaided 

 means of the fishermen. 



The Board satisfied themselves that these representations were 

 well-founded, and after considering the matter in all its aspects 

 came to the conclusion that the position could best be met by organ- 

 isiiig a building programme and transferring the boats to fishermen for 

 payment by instalments. 



Negotiations were accordingly opened with the Development 

 Commissioners with a view to obtaining funds to enable the scheme 

 to be put into operation, and eventually the Board were successful 

 in obtaining an advance of £13,200 for that purpose. This advance 

 was, however, subject to the stipulations that the vessels to be provided 

 should be built to a specification to be laid down by the Board, and that 

 the machinery of Co-operative Fishery Societies should be used in 

 transferring the boats to fishermen when completed. 



Such societies were non-existent in Scotland, and steps were there- 

 fore at once taken to draw up model rules for the guidance of fisher- 

 men, and to organise the societies. For a time the endeavours made 

 to this end promised to be successful, but in the end they proved 



* Report of the Committee appointed by the Fishery Board for Scotland to 

 inquire into the Scottish Whaling Industry, 1920 (published by H.M. Stationery 

 Office, price Is. 3d.). 



