of the Fishery Board for Scotland, 



7 



those brought to market, large quantities had to be thrown overboard 

 weekly by Aberdeen trawlers during the summer months. From the 

 point of view of its effect upon the stock of fish in the sea, this 

 feature may not necessarily be an evil, as the thinning out may 

 benefit the stock by reducing overcrowding and thus lessening the 

 competition for food. The possibility of this wholesale destruction 

 of immature fish being ultimately harmful to the fisheries cannot, 

 however, be disregarded, and although up to the present there is no 

 evidence that any depletion has resulted, the matter will continue 

 to be closely watched. Further reference to this feature of the 

 fisheries will be found under Chapter X. 



One result of the ill-success attending other methods of fishing 

 during the year was the introduction of the " snurrevaad " or Danish 

 seine net, which has been developed and perfected in Denmark, and 

 which is peculiarly effective under certain conditions. During the 

 coal dispute a large number of Danish motor boats using this net 

 landed good catches at English ports, and even after bunkers for 

 trawlers became available these smaller vessels proved able to com- 

 pete successfully in the market. The Danish net was therefore 

 rapidly adopted at first by a number of English vessels and im- 

 mediately thereafter by Scottish steam drifters and motor boats, a 

 number of which were fitted out when at the East Anglian herring 

 fishing. The length of the net including the two wings is about 80 

 yards, but it is hauled in by means of two warps which may each 

 be as much as a mile long. Warps and net are laid out so as to 

 embrace as great an area as possible, and both warps are hauled in 

 simultaneously by mechanical power. The warps in the process of 

 hauling are understood to perform an important secondary function 

 by stirring up the ground and shepherding the fish into the net. As 

 the fishing vessel is at anchor except when setting the net, working 

 expenses are much less than in steam trawling; but, so far as 

 experience in Scottish waters shows, the method is apparently best 

 suited for shallow water, smooth ground, and comparatively still 

 weather. There are said to be three types of net, for the capture 

 of flat fish, haddocks and cod respectively, but during the year only 

 the first two were in use in Scottish waters. 



This method of fishing, since it involves the dragging of gear over 

 the bottom, is prohibited by the existing byelaws of the Board within 

 the Scottish exclusive fishery limits. A petition to modify this 

 restriction in the inshore waters of the Moray Firth was the subject 

 of a local enquiry by a Committee appointed by the Board, who took 

 evidence in this connection at public meetings at Macduff, Buckie, 

 Lossiemouth and Golspie early in December, The line fishermen 

 who work regularly in the waters in question were found strongly 

 opposed to the petition, and the Board, after considering the 

 Committee's report, decided to make no change. 



