of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



51 



The surface drift bottles liberated at the end of 1920 were all 

 carried in a northerly direction, being found on the Scottish and 

 Norwegian coasts, many as far north as the Lofoten Islands. Of 

 these, two are deserving of special mention, having been picked up 

 on the northern coast of Norway, after journeys of 1000 and 1170 

 miles, 167 and 178 days respectively after the date of liberation. 

 Early in 1921 a reversal to the normal direction of the current took 

 place, and practically all the bottles recovered were found on the 

 coasts of Denmark, Sweden and southern Norway, the majority 

 coming from Denmark, and these conditions continued throughout 

 the year. 



As was to be expected from their nature, the number of bottles 

 adjusted so as to trail along the bottom of the sea which have been 

 recovered was not so great as in the case of the surface drifters. The 

 direction of drift of the deeper water differs from that at the surface, 

 and no sign of any reversal has been detected. Bottles liberated off 

 Fair Isle have travelled to the south, from Clyth Ness towards Tarbet 

 Ness, off Macduff round Buchaness, off Aberdeen to the south and 

 shorewards, and from the Bell Kock Lighthouse the bottles have been 

 much scattered and show no very definite direction. 



9. Meteorology. 



The Scottish Advisory Meteorological Committee, on which the 

 Board is represented, held a meeting in November 1921, under the 

 chairmanship of the Director of the Meteorological Office, Air Ministry. 

 At this meeting the question of co-operation with the scientific staff 

 of the Board was raised, chiefly with a view to the supply of meteoro- 

 logical data in connection with the fishery investigations, and as a 

 result data are being prepared by the staff of the Meteorological 

 Office with a view to the possible correlation of the meteorology of 

 the Atlantic and the unusual hydrographical conditions found in the 

 North Sea during the summer. 



10. Reports. 



During the year the following scientific report was published : — 

 Alexander Bowman, D.Sc. : The Distribution of Plaice Eggs in 

 the northern North Sea — II. Fisheries, Scotland, Scientific 

 Investigations, 1921, No. 1, pp. 33, one chart, 1921. 



CHAPTER XI. 



SALMON FISHERIES. 

 1. General. 



The season of 1921 showed a remarkable recovery from the 

 depressed condition which has been reported for some years. The 

 total weight of salmon and sea trout carried by rail and sea as dis- 

 closed by the returns kindly supplied by railway and steamship 

 companies amounted to 2731 tons, a figure which has been exceeded 

 only twice since the Board's records .commenced, viz. in 1895 and 

 1896. As compared with the last quinquennial average it shows an 

 advance of 1080 tons. At the average price of 2s. lOd. per lb. 



