of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



xxxiii 



total catch during 1911 amounted to 39,158 cwts., valued at £56,547, 

 as compared with 37,728 cwts. and £58,622 in 1910, the value of 

 trawled plaice having declined somewhat during the year. This was 

 due to the greater proportion of small plaice in the total catch, and 

 the fact that this proportion has increased very considerably during 

 the last few years is somewhat disquieting, although it is not yet clear 

 that it is due to a general decline in the average size. The catch by 

 nets, which amounted to 5507 cwts., valued at £6537, was nearly 

 2000 cwts. greater than in 1910, but against this has to be placed a 

 decrease of over 1000 cwts. in the line catch, which amounted to 

 8703 cwts., valued at £8136. 



Halibut. 



In point of quantity, plaice were run very close by halibut in 1911. 

 the catch of the latter species amounting to 53.151 cwts., valued at 

 £105,153, as compared with 49,620 cwts. and £96,388 in the preceding 

 year. This species is still taken principally by line, and during the 

 year the fishermen who employed that method more than regained the 

 ground lost to trawlers in 1910, their catch having increased from 

 37,594 cwts. to 44,426 cwts., whereas the trawl landings declined from 

 12,026 cwts. to 8725 cwts. This increase was due to the greater 

 attention paid to halibut fishing by the Aberdeen steam line-fishing 

 fleet, which was augmented during the summer by 22 trawlers 

 equipped temporarily for line-fishing ; the latter, however, were not 

 very successful, as they confined their operations largely to the well- 

 known Porcupine Bank, which in 1911 proved unproductive. 



The sums realised for the line and trawl catches were respectively 

 £87,331 and £17,822, the corresponding figures for 1910 being £74,454 

 and £21,934. 



Lemon Soles. 



Lemon soles are taken almost exclusively by trawlers, all but 444 

 cwts. of the total catch of 43,769 cwts. having been landed by these 

 vessels in 1911. These figures fall short of those for 1910 by 487 

 cwts., but this notwithstanding, the value, which amounted to 

 £83,259, shows an increase of £2866. About 70 per cent, of the 

 catch was landed at Aberdeen, while Granton accounted for four-fifths 

 of the remainder. 



Flounders. 



The habitat of the flounder is the shallow coastal waters, and 

 flounder-fishing is in consequence essentially an inshore fishing, 

 carried on by means of small and hand lines and nets. Very few are 

 taken by trawlers (none are landed at Aberdeen), and the small 

 quantity captured by this method in 1911 (1708 cwts.) was secured by 

 the small boats which, under bye-laws made by the Board, are per- 

 mitted to carry on a modified form of trawling known as flounder 

 net fishing in the Firths of Forth and Clyde. The quantity taken by 

 fixed nets (1805 cwls.) was also nearly all obtained in the same areas, 

 the remainder of the catch, which amounted in all to 10,994 cwts., 

 valued at £7306, being landed by the small sailing-liners at work all 

 round the coast, 

 c 



