FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT 



TO THE EIGHT HONOURABLE 



THE EARL OF DALHOUSIE, K.T., 



Her Majesty's Secretary for Scotland. 



Fishery Board for Scotland, 

 Edinburgh, 2Uh May 1886. 



My Lord, 



We, the Members of the Fishery Board for Scotland* 

 appointed under the Fishery Board (Scotland) Act, 1882, have the 

 honour to submit our Fourth Annual Eeport, in terms of the fifth 

 section of that Act, and of the fifth section of the Secretary for 

 Scotland Act, 1885. 



THE SEA AND SALMON FISHERIES OF SCOTLAND. 



The fisheries of Scotland continue to be most productive. In Fisheries most 

 1885 the total quantity of herrings landed was, with the single productive, 

 exception of that of the preceding year, the greatest ever recorded. 

 Unfortunately, however, in both of these years the fish-curers 

 sustained very great losses. In 1884, in accordance with the 

 usual custom, arrangements were entered into before the fishing 

 began, under which the herrings taken during the season, what- 

 ever might be their size or quality, were to be bought by the 

 curers from the fishermen at certain prices, with bounty money 

 in addition. The fish-curing business had been in a prosperous 

 condition during some of the immediately preceding years, and in 

 consequence of this these prices and the bounties were very high. Market glutted 

 The fishing of 1884 was, as already stated, the most abundant ever with Cured 

 known, and in that year the market became glutted with cured ^eaUaiUi"^ 

 herrings, and a great fall in prices took place. The consequence prices, 

 was that the curers suffered heavy losses ; and these losses were 

 greater than they would otherwise have been, owing to an 

 unusually large portion of the catch of that vear having consisted 



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