of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



181 



chiefly at Aberdeen — upwards of 1 7,000 cwts., valued at ^£5807. Although 

 in previous seasons an occasional haul was secured in the North Sea, where 

 perchance a trawler fell in with an "eye" of herrings in course of ordinary 

 operations, no regular catches were landed by this method of fishing. No 

 doubt the success of this method of fishing two years ago off the North 

 Coast of Ireland, and the experience the men had gained in that direction, 

 have led to new grounds being discovered and a more effective net being 

 used. During September and October operations on the Dogger Bank 

 were carried on with such gratifying results to those employed that a new 

 industry has been opened up by this means of capture in the North Sea. 

 Several of the Scottish and English trawlers employed on these grounds 

 landed their catches at Altona and ports in the north of Germany, where 

 the fish were in demand and remunerative prices obt ained. Although the 

 herrings in several instances were not, for various reasons, suitable for 

 curing, for tinning they were in demand and came into competition with 

 the fresh herrings exported from Grimsby and Lowestoft. The demand 

 for tinned herrings in the interior of Germany is annually increasing, and 

 should the fish landed on that coast be of fair average quality, a remunera- 

 tive market for them is practically assured, as in this line the Scottish 

 preserving firms are unable to compete in consequence of the high tariff 

 (6s. per cwt.) imposed on goods of this description. 



In the Eyemouth district, notwithstanding that the catch of herrings 

 showed a considerable decrease, the earnings of the fishermen at the home 

 and English autumn fishings were slightly in advance to those of 1910. 

 In spite of the fact that many of the herrings landed were of inferior 

 quality, prices kept up well, the average being 20s. Id. per cran, as against 

 17s. lOd. in 1910. These early herrings proved ruinous to the curers, as 

 thousands of barrels which were cured were disposed of at a loss. 



The majority of the fishermen in Leith and Anstruther districts were 

 employed during the greater part of the year in prosecuting the herring 

 fishing in other districts and also on the Irish and English coasts. On the 

 whole, the season was a fairly remunerative one to the fishermen of both 

 districts. From the amount of capital annually invested in boats and 

 vessels in Anstruther district, the industry in that direction appears to be 

 in a prosperous condition. 



Although last year the winter herring fishing in the Firth of Forth 

 showed some signs of revival, there was practically no demand for the class 

 of fish obtained, and prices were, unfortunately, low. Owing to the shoals 

 of herrings being struck so close inshore, the larger craft employed were 

 unable to operate with any degree of safety. 



The landings of herrings during the months of June and July showed a 

 considerable decrease when compared with the figures for the same period in 

 1910. The grounds on which the boats operated were less productive than 

 in previous years, while the herrings were generally of indifferent quality. 



Although the landings at Montrose were the highest for several years 

 back, those at Stonehaven showed a slight falling off. The harbour 

 facilities at Montrose, together with the remunerative prices secured there, 

 attracted many stranger steamers to the port with their catches. Notwith- 

 standing the recent improvement to the harbour at Stonehaven, most of 

 the boats belonging to the port landed their catches at Aberdeen owing to 

 the keener competition and better prices prevailing there. Had it not 

 been for the landings by boats from the Firth of Forth, the fishing would 

 have been a failure. For the first time for several years back some good 

 hauls were obtained on the old grounds from 8 to 10 miles off the coast. 



The herring fishing at Aberdeen opened in May, and up to the middle 

 of July was fairly successful, after which date the steamers began to leave 

 for the Northumberland coast. All throughout the season there was a 

 keen demand for herrings for tinning and curing purposes, with the result 



