of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



ix 



The balance, as follows, has been taken by lines and by nets 

 other than trawls : — 



Year. 



Quantity. 



Value. 





Cwts. 



£ 



1908 . 



. 824,684 



379,079 



1909 . 



. 810,519 



352,552 



1910 . 



. 866,567 



388,363 



1911 . 



. 952,208 



426,719 



1912 . 



. • . 939,107 



434,187 



1913 . 



. 754,309 



400,626 



1914 . 



. 757,621 



445,139 



1915 . 



. 586,842 



544,991 



1916 . 



. 522,528 



655,505 



1917 . 



. 479,293 



869,075 



Trawl voyages to the distant northern grounds were the most 

 productive, yielding heavy and valuable shots, principally of codling 

 and large haddocks. The Iceland and Faroe grounds were, however, 

 not visited after July, mainly on account of the unsuitability of the 

 remaining Vessels for the voyages to these grounds, and the landings 

 suffered accordingly. The North Sea grounds constantly fished were 

 occasionally reported to be unproductive, but vessels worked steadily 

 throughout the year and appeared, on the whole, to enjoy a profitable 

 season. 



Steam line fishing was little prosecuted, the total landed being 

 only 34,884 cwts. as against 93,463 cwts. in 1916. Most of the fish 

 accounted for under this head of the returns was landed on the West 

 Coast by vessels principally engaged in drift net fishing. 



Small line fishing again showed an increased yield, and for the 

 first time the landings by motor boats exceeded those by sail boats. 



A number of motor boats engaged in trawling off the East Coast 

 at different periods of the year, the catches landed consisting chiefly 

 of plaice. Exhaustion of the grounds fished and prosecutions for 

 contraventions of the statute prohibiting trawling in inshore waters 

 curtailed operations however. 



White Fish Cueing. 



The curing of white fish continued largely centralised at Aberdeen, 

 and the extent of operations was further restricted. The prices 

 ruling for fresh fish were too high to permit of their purchase for 

 drying purposes, but haddocks received from other centres, such as 

 Scalloway, were smoked for the home markets, and small quantities 

 of consigned saithe and other kinds were secured for drying. The 

 greater part of the fish dried in Scotland during the year, however, 

 was imported wet salted, principally from Iceland and Faroe. 



Persons Employed. 



The number of persons employed in the fisheries of Scotland and 

 the various industries subsidiary thereto in the year 1917 was 35,746. 

 Of these, 14,800 manned the fishing fleet, 5245 were gutters and 

 packers of herrings, 2057 were engaged in the carrying trade, and 

 the remainder were engaged in other operations connected with the 

 fishing industry. 



