Fishery Board for Scotland. 



xxi 



waters literally team with myriads of minute forms, such as the Scientific 



herring fry require for food during the earlier months of their IllyestI g ation s- 



existence. The absence of herring fronvthe Guillan and other once 



much frequented banks cannot therefore be accounted for either by 



saying that the bottom is no longer suitable for the deposit of eggs, 



or that the surface waters no longer contain the food required for 



the newly-hatched herring. During the coming autumn it will be Experiment 



a matter of the first importance for the Board to deposit on one of nll^Autumii 



the inshore banks some millions of fertilised eggs. By doing this 



a number of extremely interesting problems may be solved. For 



example, if the following year the bank is frequented by a shoal of 



comparatively small herring, it may be inferred — (1) that they arethe 



produce of the eggs deposited the former season ; (2) that herring, like 



salmon, when about to spawn, instinctively seek their birthplace ; 



(3) that the migration of herring is limited, and that in course of 



time special varieties of herring may have been formed at different 



parts of the coast ; and (4), what is of even of more importance, that 



when any particular spawning ground is deserted, instead of waiting 



thirty, fifty, or more years, until some accident brings another shoal, 



the nucleus of a new shoal may be formed without waiting, and the 



fishing restored in a comparatively short period. At the same 



time, it is evident from the observations of last year, that it is 



equally important that the development of herring eggs should be Hatching 



studied in deep water. It has been again and again asserted that jjjjj-^j 6 dee 



herring eggs develop in_from 60 to 100 fathoms, but there is an water! m 66P 



entire absence of proof of this statement ; and now that the herring 



fishing is chiefly carried on in deep water at 50 to 100 miles from the 



shore, that, in other words, there is no longer an abundance of 



herring inshore, it is of vital importance to settle finally, as Dr 



Francis Day, our greatest authority on fish, has so often urged, 



whether the eggs develop, and, if so, whether the fry are sufficiently 



strong to survive and obtain what nourishment they require in the 



open sea. 



In addition to examining the herring spawning grounds, a pre- Survey of 

 liminary survey was made of the mussel beds of the Dornoch, Mussel Beds - 

 Cromarty, and Inverness Firths. From this inquiry it was evident 

 that all three firths were remarkably well adapted for producing 

 mussels, and that with a little care they might also be made avail- 

 able for the cultivation of oysters. It was ascertained that the 

 mussel beds of the Dornoch Firth yield a considerable sum 

 annually to the authorities of Tain, and that the chief reason why 

 the mussel beds generally had not been farmed, as they are in 

 France, resulted from the exorbitant charges for surveying, &c, Mussel Culture 

 made by the Board of Trade before auy attempt at artificial culture ^ rd re 0 f ^ ade 

 could be attempted. The Board hopes that ere long you will be regulations!"* 6 

 pleased to take steps to have the control of both oyster and mussel 

 beds transferred from the Board of Trade to the Fishery Board for 

 Scotland. If this were done, the Board feels convinced that in 

 a few years, by granting leases of the beds at low rates, and by Fishery Board 

 arranging for a small charge for the necessary preliminary sur- s ^ ld ^ f ave 

 vey, the three firths mentioned would yield as many mussels Mussel Beds, 

 as supply the whole east of Scotland, and thus provide a plenti- 

 ful supply of bait to the fishermen, the absence of which is often 



