of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



xxvii 



remembered, sprang up so unexpectedly. Towards the total catch 

 the East Coast contributed 57 per cent., Orkney and Shetland 31 

 per cent., and the West Coast 12 per cent., the corresponding per- 

 centages for 1910 being 59, 29, and 12. 



Fortunately for fishermen, the disappointing catch was to some 

 extent compensated for by the increase in value. This increase was 

 due to the higher prices realised in Orkney and Shetland and on the 

 East Coast, as the value of the West Coast catch fell from £111,885 to 

 £98,927. It was seldom after the end of June that fish were 

 sufficiently plentiful to supply all the requirements of the curers 

 engaged in the Continental trade, and the keen competition thus 

 induced maintained prices at a high level all through the season, the 

 average price per cwt. on the East Coast and in Orkney and Shetland 

 (7s. 5Jd.) being Is. higher than in 1910. 



The percentages of the total value attributable to the three sections 

 of the coast are 56, c5, and 9 respectively. 



(b) SPRATS, SPARLINGS, AND MACKEREL. 



The rapid development of the " sardine " tinning industry in 

 Norway has given a great stimulus to the Scottish sprat fishing, the 

 result of which is seen in the increased landings in 1911, which 

 amounted to 35,875 cwts., valued at £4234, as compared with 9675 

 cwts. and £2894 in the preceding year. This fishing is confined to 

 the Firths of Forth, Tay, and Inverness, and in the first-named area 

 alone the catch exceeded the total quantity landed in all three 

 localities in 1910, while the Firth of Tay fishing was the most 

 successful for the past eight years. In the Forth, moreover, the fish 

 were of the finest quality ever seen. The sprat fishery has existed 

 for many years, but prior to the advent of the Scandinavian buyers 

 these fish were always difficult to dispose of, as the demand for them 

 in this country is limited. Now that they are in such demand for 

 preserving purposes, however, the drawback referred to should no 

 longer militate against the successful development of this fishing. 



Sparlings are obtained chiefly in the Firth of Forth. During the 

 year under review the total catch amounted to 300 cwts., valued at 

 £648, as compared with 325 cwts. and £881 in 1910. 



The mackerel fishing made further progress in 1911, the catch of 

 47,973 cwts. representing an increase of nearly 10 per cent, upon the 

 figures for 1910. Unfortunately, the financial returns were not 

 encouraging, the value having declined by £1156, or nearly 11 per 

 cent. Nor did the increase occur on the West Coast, where in recent 

 years attempts have been made to establish a regular mackerel 

 fishery, the catch for that section having fallen from 28,199 cwts. to 

 21,176 cwts. It was due to the greatly augmented landings on the 

 East Coast (principally at the Aberdeenshire herring fishing ports), 

 in which section the catch amounted to 19,969 cwts., or more than 

 double the quantity landed in 1910. There is. however, no organised 

 mackerel fishing on the East Coast, the fish being taken incidentally 

 in the course of herring fishing. Mackerel have also been landed by 

 trawlers in recent years, and the quantity so taken in 1911 was 4363 

 cwts., as compared with 2377 cwts. in the preceding year. 



