of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



liii 



increases of 80 tons and £8550 respectively upon the preceding year's 

 figures, attributable to the replacement of smaller by larger and more 

 efficient vessels. The number of men employed on these vessels was 

 110, or one more than in 1910, all being foreigners. 



The whaling season lasts from April to September, and during that 

 period in 1911 the whaling steamers made 406 voyages, or an average 

 of 37 voyages per vessel, as compared with a total of 441 voyages, 

 and an average per vessel of 40, in the preceding year. The decrease 

 in the number of voyages made cannot, however, be taken as indicating 

 any slackening of energy on the part of the whalers. In the light of 

 the decreased catch, it is in all probability due to the greater length 

 of time spent at sea before the whales were sighted. 



The flensing, boiling, and other operations incidental to the whaling 

 industry which are carried on at the stations gave employment, on an 

 average, to 288 men during the greater part of the season (May to 

 August), of whom 140 were British and 148 foreigners, as compared 

 with 126 British and 161 foreigners in 1910. The number fluctuated 

 from month to month, however, the busiest month being July, when 

 295 men (148 British and 147 foreign) were employed, as compared 

 with a maximum of 302 (139 British and 163 foreign) in the preceding 

 year. 



The foregoing statistics are summarised in the following table : — 



Men employed 



f m , , m f i Men in Factories No. of 



Steamers Tounte Value en § a g ed on < Maxim " m V <W S 

 steamers, lonnage. Value. Steamers Number). made. 



£ Brit. Foreign. 



1911 - 11 497 55,550 110 148 147 406 

 1910 - 11 417 47,000 109 139 163 441 



The falling off in the number of whales captured which occurred 

 in 1910 continued during the year under review, only 503 whales 

 being landed, as compared with 615 in 1910, and 730 in 1909. This 

 gives an average catch per steamer of 45*7 whales, a decrease since 

 1909 of over 31 per cent. The number, species, and sex of the whales 

 captured are shown in the following table : — 



Species. 



Male. 



Female. 



Total 



Total 







1911. 



1910. 



Finner (Balcenoptera muscidus) 



159 



185 



344 



381 



Sei (B. Borealis) 



66 



64 



130 



190 



Sperm (Physeter macrocephalus) - 



18 





18 



1 



Blue (B. ^ibbaldii) - 



3 



2 



5 



21 



Humpback (Megaptera) 



3 



1 



4 



12 



Botthnose {IJyperoodon) - 





2 



2 



• 1 



Northcaper (Balaina Biscay ensis) 









9 



Total - 



249 



254 



503 



615 



From the above table it will be observed that there was a falling 

 off in every species except sperm and bottlenose whales. Perhaps the 

 most remarkable feature of the returns furnished to the Board was 

 the exceptional number of sperm whales captured. The sperm whale, 

 or the Cachalot, is a rare visitant to Scottish waters, but during the 

 year under review 18 of these valuable animals were secured, including 



