XX 



Thirtieth Annual Report 



cvvt. in 1909, the slight increase being referable to the enhanced prices 

 realised for herrings. The shell-fish landed realised a total of £67,355, 

 or £2405 less than in 1910, a decrease for which lobsters and 

 unclassified shell-fish were entirely responsible, all other kinds show- 

 ing increases in varying degree. The gross total value of all kinds of 

 fish landed was £3,045,355 — figures which, it is gratifying to record, 

 have been only thrice previously exceeded in the history of the 

 Scottish fishing industry. 



II. Pelagic Fish taken by Nets. 



(a) HERRINGS. 



The total catch of herrings in 1910 amounted to 5,036,484 cwts., 

 valued at £1,505,334, as compared with 5,687,226 cwts. and £1,594,308 

 in the preceding year. For these decreases the early summer fishing, 

 with a falling off from the figures for 1910 of 624,489 cwts., or nearly 

 25 per cent., in the quantity, and £168,677, or 29 per cent., in the 

 value, was almost entirely responsible. The decrease in the value of 

 the early summer catch was to a large extent discounted by the great 

 summer fishing, which realised £99,679, or about 11 per cent., more 

 than in 1910, although the quantity landed was 4755 cwts. less. The 

 winter herring fishing figures show comparatively slight variations 

 from those of the preceding year. With one marked difference — the 

 observance of a close time during the early summer fishing — the course 

 of the fishing in the year under review bore a general resemblance to that 

 of 1910. The Stornoway winter fishing was an even more pronounced 

 failure than in the latter year. On the East Coast the tendency 

 which has been in evidence in recent years to start fishing at an 

 earlier date each season was more pronounced than ever, while, as in 

 1910, the fishing fell away greatly in August — the month in which 

 formerly it was wont to be at its height — to be followed by a slight 

 revival in September. The great decline in the early fishing was the 

 direct result of events in the previous season, and will be dealt with 

 later. 



The average price per cwt. throughout the year was 6s., as com- 

 pared with 5s. 7d. in 1910, an increase which is attributable to the 

 high prices current in July and August, when the supply was barely 

 equal to the demand, as prices at the beginning of the season were 

 abnormally low. 



Of the total landings, the East Coast contributed 52 per cent., 

 Orkney and Shetland 35 per cent., and the West Coast the remainder, 

 while in respect of value the corresponding percentages were 51, 37, 

 and 12. Of individual contributors, Shetland, with a catch of 

 1,372,508 cwts., easily retained its place at the head of affairs, the next 

 in order being Fraserburgh, which, with a catch of 675,000 cwts., re- 

 gained by the narrow margin of 2600 cwts. the premier place on the 

 East Coast which was wrested from it two years ago by Peterhead. 

 Other prominent contributors on the East Coast were Wick and 

 Aberdeen, while on the West Coast Stornoway was a long way ahead 

 of any other district. 



As contributors to the herring supplies, power-propelled vessels 

 made a further encroachment upon the position so long held by sailing 



