of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



v 



The following table shows the results of the Scottish herring 

 iishery since 1908 : — 









Average 



Year. 



Quantity. 



Value. 



Price per 





Cwts. 



£ 



Cwt. 



1908 . 



. 5,690,114 



1,151,644 



4/0J 



1909 . 



. 4,541,297 



1,569,743 



6/11 



1910 . 



. 5,687,226 



1,594,308 



5/7 



1911 . 



. 5,036,484 



1,505,334 



6/ 



1912 . 



. 5,201,300 



1,910,533 



7/4* 



1913 . 



. 4,449,323 



2,087,754 



»/** 



1914 . 



. 4,383,265 



1,339,046 



6/11 

 12/6| 



1915 . 



703,096 



441,980 



1916 . 



. 2,086,177 



1,350,609 



12/111 



1917 . 



. 1,972,346 



1,563,824 



15/101 



The most outstanding fishing of the year, though not the most 

 productive, was that prosecuted on the West Coast during the 

 spring months. This fishing yielded, from January to March, a 

 total of 712,371 cwts., as compared with 314,206 cwts. in the 

 corresponding period of 1916. 



Stornoway was, as usual, the principal centre of the fishing, but 

 owing to the demand for herrings in the home markets, and the 

 greater freedom of movement permitted by the revised Admiralty 

 Orders which came into force prior to the opening of the fishing, 

 heavy landings were made at the railway termini on the mainland. 

 The landings at Mallaig, Kyle, and Oban represented about 40 per 

 cent, of the season's catch, whereas in 1916, when the catch was 

 much smaller, only 17 per cent, was landed at those ports. 



This tendency continued throughout the year, the total figures 

 for which show that 435,000 cwts. were landed at Stornoway, and 

 482,000 cwts. at the mainland ports. The change which the war 

 conditions and national food requirements have brought about is 

 indicated by a comparison between these figures and those for the 

 last normal year, 1913, when 524,000 cwts. were delivered at 

 Stornoway as against 160,000 landed at the other ports. 



The Shetland herring fishing was not prosecuted with any vigour 

 during the year. The landings in the first quarter of the year were 

 greater than in the same period of 1916, but the summer fishing was 

 limited to local boats, and this fact, and the lack of adequate trans- 

 port facilities to enable the catch to be placed on the home markets 

 were responsible for the great diminution in the catch, the year's 

 total being only 120,000 cwts. as against 470,000 cwts. in 1916. 



The summer herring fishing on the East Coast yielded a total of 

 685,776 cwts., as compared with 727,717 cwts. in 1916. The 

 fishing opened in May, but it was not until June that satisfactory 

 results were secured. The restrictions which the Naval Authorities 

 found it necessary to impose limited the operations of the fishermen. 



On the North-East Coast fishing was conducted mainly from 

 Fraserburgh and Peterhead; the landings at Aberdeen were 

 negligible, but Macduff and Buckie received increased quantities. 

 Fishing was not prosecuted from Wick or the Orkney ports, the 

 grounds in the vicinity being closed. 



