of the, Fishery Board for Scotland. 



59 



giving a total of 1151 fish, 43 (over 37 per cent.) of which were herring, 

 with a rate of from 0 to 1 3 per cent. Four samples were procured from 

 the shops in March, there being 427 fish, with an intermixture of 19 

 (nearly 4 -5 per cent.) herring, the percentage of the latter varying in the 

 samples from 0 to 7. A total of 4877 fish, with a percentage of 5*18 

 herrings. It will be noticed that of these fish, bought as sprats in the 

 Edinburgh shops, the proportion of young herring to sprats varies much, 

 there being sometimes as many as 60 herrings to 100 sprats, on other 

 occasions there being none. All these fish were from 3 \ to 5f inches 

 long ; but as the boats were certainly bringing in greater or less quantities 

 of larger herring (6 to 8J inches), it is probable that these, as fetching a 

 higher price, had been separated, when in any quantity, from the small 

 fish, consequently, the above percentages may be rather under the mark 

 of the total number of herring netted with the sprats. The figures, 

 however, show the proportion in which young herring were sold as sprats 

 in the Edinburgh shops during last winter. 



The samples taken directly from the boats (circle net fishing), were re- 

 moved by the spade as chance directed, while the boat was delivering its 

 take. 



Thirteen samples were taken during December, the total-number of fish 

 being 1671, of which 215 (over 12*8 per cent.) were herrings from Z\ to 

 5 J inches long, the percentage of the different samples ranging from 1 *5 

 to 76 # 4. In January seven samples were got from the boats, containing 

 a total of 874 fish, among which were 56 (6*4 per cent.) young herring, 

 the percentage of the latter ranging from *8 in one sample to 15*2 in 

 another. In February four samples were procured, these consisting of 

 591 fish, 15 of which (2-5 per cent.) were herring from 3 \ to 5f inches 

 long, the lowest percentage being *7, the highest 4*3. A total of 3136 fish, 

 with a percentage of 9*1 herrings. Most of these fish had been caught 

 off Aberdour, some off Burntisland and neighbouring places ; and the 

 take of the boats, from which the samples. were procured, varied from 20 

 to 62 barrels, generally being about 45 or 48. It will be seen from the 

 figures that great fluctuations occur in the amount of intermixture of 

 sprats and herrings both in the Tay and Forth, though this is more 

 marked in the latter, where often no herring are mixed with the sprats, a 

 circumstance which I have never found to occur in the Tay samples. I am 

 unable however to explain the cause of these changes in the amount of 

 intermixture, for in cases where the contrasts exist the fish had been caught 

 in the same locality, and in similar weather, though on different days. 



It may be assumed that practically all the fish which were bought 

 in Edinburgh shops as sprats, were caught in the Firth of Forth. The 

 number of days, therefore, on which samples of the Forth fishings were 

 procured for examination was in November (latter part only) 4, in 

 December 20, in January 15, in February 15, and in March (early part 

 only) 4. So that samples of the fishing on about every second day 

 during the winter were examined, and the result of these examinations 

 may be taken as a fair criterion of the quantity of young herring taken 

 from the Firth of Forth along with sprats. As was stated in connection 

 with the Tay fishery, however, this by no means gives the total quantity 

 of immature herring caught, for the drift-net fishers (and circle-net to a 

 certain extent), were bringing in herrings of 6 to 8J inches long, and, 

 although my examination was not specially extended to these, such of 

 them as I did receive all proved to be immature. 



The result of the examination of all these samples, amounting to 9515 

 fish, is to show that last winter in the Moray Firth, less than 1 per cent, 

 of young herring were taken by the sprat fishers; in the Beauly Firth 

 15 per cent.; in the Firth of Tay over 21 per cent.; and in the Firth of 



