Appendices to Thirty-eightk Annual Beport 



a steam drifter. Some crews lost heavily in fishing gear, the total 

 loss over the whole fleet being estimated at £8000. 

 There were no casualties during the year. 



David Kosie, 

 Fishery Officer. 



Fishery Office, 

 Berwick, 16th January 1920. 



Leith District. 



The fisheries of this district, of which the trawling branch is by far the 

 most important, were prosecuted with good results during the year 1919. 

 Compared ^-ith the returns of the previous year, the total quantity and 

 value of white fish landed in the district show increases of 142,758 cwts. 

 and £75,761, which so far as value is concerned established a record for 

 this district. The average price paid for white fish caught by all methods 

 was last year 36s. 7d. per cwt., as compared with 56s. 3d. per cwt. in 1918. 



The most notable changes in the Means of Capture returns relate 

 to steam trawlers and motor-propelled boats. Trawlers show an increase 

 of 10 vessels over the preceding year, and the likelihood is that the fleet, 

 which at present numbers about 60 vessels, will be augmented in the 

 course of 1920. No less than 30 boats, old and new craft, were equipped 

 with motor engines, and to judge from present indications this popular 

 type of boat will become still more in evidence in the near future. 



The winter herring fishing, which usually goes on from January to 

 April, was pursued with successful results, particularly from a financial 

 point of view. The season's catch totalled 6858 crans, of the value of 

 £39,762, as compared with 2019 crans, and £15,543 for the previous season. 

 The number of boats regularly engaged at this fishing was about 80, 

 and the most successful catch was secured during the week ended 22nd 

 February, when 1733 crans were caught. Most of the herrings were 

 secured by seine nets ofi Burntisland and Aberdour. Practically all the 

 herrings realised the maximum controlled price of 126s. a cran, with the 

 result that a rationing scheme had to be introduced, which was supervised 

 by the Board's Officer at the Newhaven market, where the bulk of the 

 catch was disposed of for freshing purposes. 



Sprat fishing was a complete failure, only 708 crans having been 

 landed, as against 2589 crans in the previous year. 



Seine-net fishing was not so extensively carried on as was the case in 

 1918, the Cockenzie crews, who are the principal prosecutors of this method 

 of fishing, not having given the same amount of attention to it. For 835 

 arrivals the year's catch was 1977 cwts., valued at £5506, as constrasted 

 with 4545 cwts. and £21,769 for the year 1918. 



Line fishing received noteworthy attention only at Dunbar and 

 Cockenzie. The quantity and value of fish so caught were 21,803 cwts., 

 and £51,557, as against 23,293 cwts. and £70,276 for the previous year. 



Crab and lobster fishing, which is carried on mainly from Cove and 

 Dunbar, was successfully prosecuted. The total value of all kinds of shell 

 fish taken was £5031, as compared with £4691 in 1918. 



As already mentioned, steam trawhng is the chief branch of the district 

 fisheries, and it is carried on almost entirely from Granton. The quantity 

 and value of fish caught by this method were 279,012 cwts. and £506,529, 

 as against 143,144 cwts. and £415,510 for the preceding year. Even these 

 figures do not give an exact representation of the success of the district 

 trawlers, since several of the boats frequently landed their catches at other 

 ports when they were operating in northern waters. The average number 



