of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 261 





Boats Employed. 





Herrings 



Caught. 





Year. 



lram- 





















niel 

 or 



Seine. 



Total. 



By Trammel 

 or Drift. 



By Seine. 



Total. 





JJiilt. 



























wrcms. 



V ctLuc. 



Grans. 



¥ iMiUiV. 







1876 







123 





& 







6 071 



£13,610 



1877 







175 











10 254 



23,625 



1878 







191 











17' 830 



44' 575 



1879 







304 











20' 092 



50', 230 

 73' 536 



1880 







364 











31 292 



1881 







407 











24 294 



65' 100 



1000 



188z 



152 



270 



422 











8^708 



22'770 



1883 



120 



288 



408 











31 374 



78,435 



1884 



123 



320 



443 











14 564 



43' 692 



1 QOK 



18oo 



111 



300 



411 











27'671 



46' 673 





100 



192 



292 











4 760 



5^168 



1887 



78 



100 



178 











9,876 



3^291 



1888 



65 



90 



155 











9,515 



3,983 



1 O Of l 



1889 



60 



144 



204 











10,615 



4,940 

 5,147 



1 onn 

 1890 



60 



114 



174 



1,608 





6,586 





8,194 



1891 



53 



172 



225 



945 





5,955 





6,901 



6,391 



1 OOO 



51 



46 



97 



1,618 





1,695 





3,313 



2,404 



1 ono 

 189o 



48 



56 



104 



423 



393 



31 



25 



454 



393 



1894 



25 





25 



75 



80 







75 



80 



1895 



42 



24 



66 



1,170 



1,220 



351 



417 



1,521 



1,637 



1896 



19 



6 



25 



158 



40 



371 



93 



529 



133 



1897 



18 



2 



20 



466 



295 



3 





469 



295 



1898 



5 





5 



25 



20 







25 



20 



1899 



7 



32 



39 



260 



93 



977 



356 



1,237 



449 



1900 



28 



42 



70 



1,824 



1,428 



2,286 



1,607 



4,110 



3,035 



These statistics clearly indicate the former importance of this herring 

 fishery and the poor condition to which it has sunk in recent years, 

 which is ascribed by the local fishermen to excessive " trawling " or 

 seining. Prior to 1878 the only methods in use for the capture of 

 herrings at Ballantrae Bank and its immediate neighbourhood were 

 the drift net and the trammel, the former being employed principally 

 beyond the Bank, while the trammels were set upon it. But in 1878 the 

 seine net began to be employed on the Bank by fishermen from 

 Argyllshire, and with so much success, that its use rapidly extended, 

 The quantity of herrings, it will be observed, rose very largely in the 

 years following its introduction, over 31,000 crans being secured in 

 1880 and 1883, their gross value amounting to no less than £73,536 

 and £78,435 respectively ; whereas in 1894 the quantity taken was 

 only 75 crans, of the value of £80, and in 1898 only 25 crans, 

 of the value of £20. Down to about the year 1884 the largest 

 herrings were secured by the seine net, and in one season the crews 

 of two seine-net boats (eight men) earned in five weeks the sum of 

 £900.* But after the year named the herrings caught were generally 

 much inferior in size, and in some seasons a considerable proportion of 

 the seine-net fish were so small as to be unmarketable, and were in 

 some cases used for manure. It may be stated that the price, as well 

 as the gross value, has greatly diminished of late years. Thus in the 

 ten years 1876-1885 the average price was never under £2 per cran, 

 * Fifth Report Fishery Board for Scotland, p. 434. 



