of ike Fishery Board for Scotland. 



25 



all the districts, with the exception of Helmsdale. In Banff district 

 the quantity landed fell from 23,637 cwts. to 17,939 cwts., and the 

 average from 1*93 to 1-61 ; in Buckie district the corresponding decline 

 in the quantity was from 24,161 cwts. to 19,518 cwts., and the average 

 fell from 2*49 to 1*87. In the Findhorn district the diminution was 

 not so marked — namely, in quantity from 19,772 cwts. to 18,300 cwts., 

 and in the average from 1*34 to 1-12. 



The average weight of haddocks caught per "shot" of the line in each 

 of the districts in the various years is as follows : — 



District. 



1894. 



1895. 



1896. 



1897 



1898. 



1899. 



Wick, 



0-54 



0-508 



0-22 



0-19 



0-27 



0-13 



Lybstei, 



1*63 



1-29 



0-69 



1-028 



0-77 



0-24 



Helmsdale. - 



2-16 



2-11 



2-2 



1-59 



1-33 



1-52 



Cromarty, 



2-18 



1-96 



1-51 



1-54 



M0 



0-95 



Findhorn, - 



3-31 



3-73 



3-32 



1-92 



1-34 



112 



Buckie, 



3-178 



3-19 



3-16 



2-62 



2-49 



1-87 



Banff, - 



2-47 



4-07 



3-06 



2-82 



1-93 



1-61 



The next most abundant line-caught fish is the saithe or coal-fish, 

 which, unlike the cod and the haddock, was obtained in gradually 

 increasing quantities until last year. The quantity increased from 

 5083 cwts. in 1895 to 14,881 cwts. in 1898, the average per "shot" also 

 rising in the same period from 0-087 to 0-28. Last year, however, the 

 quantity fell to 9383 cwts., and the average to 0*169 ; and the decline 

 was common throughout the Firth generally, all the districts showing a 

 diminution both in the gross quantity landed and in the catch per shot 

 of the line. The decrease was most marked in the districts of Wick 

 and Banff. In the former, the quantity diminished from 9292 cwts. to 

 6330 cwts. ; in the latter, from 2,597 cwts. to 850 cwts. 



It is somewhat remarkable that throughout the period of six years 

 there has been a progressive diminution in the abundance of whitings, 

 which are chiefly caught in the Banff and Findhorn districts. In 1894 

 the quantity landed was 5845 cwts., the average per " shot " being 0-094 

 cwts. ; last year the gross quantity was only 1323 cwts., and the 

 average per " shot " 0 - 023 cwts. The decline has been fairly steady 

 from year to year. 



The quantity of conger landed in 1899 was but little below the total 

 for the previous year, the figures being 741 and 826 cwts. respectively. 

 There was, on the other hand, a slight increase in the quantity of skates — 

 from 3273 to 3584 cwts. — but the averages were practically the same 

 in the two years. The statistics for these fishes, indeed, show greater 

 uniformity from year to year than in the case of any others. Of 

 u other kinds of white fish " caught by line, besides those specified in 

 the Tables, there was a decrease from 4574 to 3116 cwts., the average 

 also declining from 0*087 to 0*056. In 1895 the quantity was 9456 

 cwts., and the average 0*16 and since then there has been a gradual 

 decline. 



Among flat-fishes, which, with the exception of the smaller forms in 

 the group included under the heading " flounder, plaice, and brill," are 

 not caught in great numbers by line in the Moray Firth, the statistics 

 show that there was an increase last year as compared with the previous 



