Iviii 



Fourth Annual Eeport of the 



Every person who acts in contravention of this section shall be liable to a 

 fine not exceeding £'2 for the first offence, and £10 for the second and every 

 anbsequent offence, and to forfeit all lobsters found in his possession, sold, ex- 

 posed for sale, consigned for sale, or bought for sale in contravention of this 

 section. 



This placard the Board caused to be posted up in suitable 

 places on the coast ; and further, they instructed their officers to 

 exercise vigilance in seeing that no undersized crabs or lobsters 

 were sold in future, and they have no doubt that these fisheries will 

 be benefited from the action thus taken. 



FISH SOLD FKESH. 



Returns of In Appendix C. will be found returns of the total quantity and 

 ?afue^of white ^^^^^^^^^^ value of the different kinds of white and shell-fish 

 and shellfish landed in Scotland last year, but excluding those herring, cod, ling, 

 lauded. and hake accounted for as cured in Appendices A and B ; 



aud Appendix C also shows the respective quantities taken in 

 each of the twenty- six districts into which the coasts of Scotland 

 are divided for fishery purposes, with their estimated values. 

 How coUected. Thesc Statistics have been compiled from returns collected by 

 the Board's officers in the twenty-six districts, assisted by a number 

 of correspondents resident at different harbours and creeks. 

 Similar returns for the previous year (1884),. were given in the 

 Board's last Eeport. 



Although no means existed for comparing the returns of fish 

 landed in 1884 with those in 1883, it was generally believed that the 

 gross yield of 1884 was greater than the average of several years 

 which had immediately preceded it. It is therefore all the more 

 satisfactory to find, by the statistics now presented, that the 

 Quantity and gross quantity of white fish landed and sold fresh in 1885 exceeded 

 mite Fish ^^^^ ^^^^ 331,417 cwts ; and further that, although the 

 landed and sold average priccs of fish were much lower in 1885 than in 1884, the 

 fresh in 1885, value of the catch was £21,529 greater. As regards shell-fish, the 

 1884. quantity taken last year was also greater than in the preceding one, 



Quantity and and morc valuable by £8254. The gross value of white and shell- 

 IhlnJL fis^ landed in 1885 was thus £29,783 more than in 1884. With the 

 taken also exception of sprats, mackerel, and tusk, all the white fish taken 

 greater. show a large increase as against 1884, but the greatest increase 

 was in cod, ling, haddocks, whitings, and flat fish. Of shell- fish, 

 there was an increase in the quantity of lobsters taken, but a 

 decrease in oysters, mussels, and crabs. 

 White Fishing Of the three divisions into which the twenty-six fishery districts 

 cuted^on* East grouped in Appendix C, viz. : — East Coast, Orkney and Shet- 

 Coast. land, and West Coast, the white fishing was prosecuted with the 



greatest energy on the first. This was parti^^ owing to there having 

 been better facilities on the East Coast, for sending fresh fish to 

 the different markets, than in either of the other divisions, and the 

 returns show that the greatest quantity of white fish was captured 

 on that coast. 



Quantity of The quantity of herrings taken last year, and sold fresh or 

 fnd^id frSr l^g^tly salted, amounted to 139,875 crans, being an increase of 1656 

 in 1885. crans on that in 1884. Owing, however, to the low range 



