of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 31 



although the service during this period was necessarily curtailed in 

 some instances, the Board found the companies at all times most 

 willing and ready to assist the trade in every way possible. 



CHAPTER VI. 



DEVELOPMENT. 



1. Disposal of Admiralty Drifters to Ex-Service Fishermen. 



With the exception of six wooden drifters returned to the 

 Admiralty as unsaleable, all the vessels — 75 in number — taken over 

 by the Board for disposal under this scheme have now been sold. 



The prices originally fixed for these vessels were as follow : — 

 £6500 for new and £6000 for re-conditioned steel vessels, plus 

 £500 if equipped for trawling, and £5000 for new and £4500 for 

 re-conditioned wooden vessels, but in consequence of the depression 

 in the industry and the great fall in the value of fishing vessels a 

 petition was received from the purchasers in the course of the year 

 praying that a substantial reduction be made on the original prices. 

 This petition was strongly supported by the Board, and H.M. Treasury 

 ultimately sanctioned a reduction of 25 per cent. 



After allowing for this reduction the value of the vessels sold is 

 in round figures £310,000, and of this sum about £40,000 had been 

 repaid up to the end of 1921, while a further sum of £5000 had 

 been received by way of interest. 



Owing to the serious crisis through which the industry has 

 passed since the scheme was inaugurated, only five crews have 

 succeeded in clearing their indebtedness to the Board. The majority 

 of them are in debt, and in eight cases it has unfortunately been 

 found necessary to foreclose the mortgages over the vessels. 



2. Loans to Fishermen for the Purchase of Motor Fishing Boats 

 and the Installation of Motor Engines into Existing 

 Sailing Boats. 



In the annual report for 1920 it was stated that the applications 

 for loans for the purchase of motor fishing boats and the installation 

 of motor engines into existing sailing boats, for which the Board 

 had succeeded in obtaining an advance from the Development Fund, 

 had been much less numerous than was anticipated. 



The scheme was continued during the year, but only a very small 

 number of applications was received, and in no case were the 

 applicants able to comply with the revised conditions on which 

 loans could be granted. 



The total number of loans advanced is eight, amounting in all 

 to £1835, over boats and engines costing £2575. 



The scheme has now been discontinued. 



