Fishery Board for Scotland. 



Ixi 



The lobster and crab fisheries yielded good returns in 1885. The Lobster 

 Of lobsters, 956,300 were taken, valued 'at £35,081; and of ^^^^j^^J:^^ 

 crabs, 3,249,900, valued at £23,740, being an increase on the 

 former, as against 1884, of 229,200, but a decrease on the latter 

 of 67,900. The best fishing of lobsters was got in the district of 

 Stornoway, which yielded 522,100, or more than one-half of the 

 gross quantity captured. Orkney produced the next largest 

 quantity, which amounted to 72,800. Lobsters were also found in 

 greater or less abundance in nearly all the other districts of Scotland. 

 Those taken on the West Coast are of finer quality than those got 

 on the East Coast. Of crabs, the Eyemouth district yielded 1,555,000 

 last year, being about one-half of the entire catch. 



Of other kinds of shell-fish, of which the most important are the other Shell 

 clam, cockle, whelk, limpet, and razor-fish, 54,196 cwts. were taken fisheries, 

 in 1885, valued at £14,196, showing an increase on 1884 of 11,950 

 cwts. in quantity, and £5234 in value. Clams are got in limited 

 quantities in the district of Stornoway, Campbeltown, Inveraray, 

 Cromarty and Orkney ; but the most prolific clam bait beds are in 

 Leith district, lying off Prestonpans and Cockenzie, and extending to 

 several square miles. Cockles are found in great abundance upon 

 the West Coast where they are much used as an article of food, and 

 occasionally for bait. The most productive beds are in the Outer 

 Hebrides, especially at the north end of the Island of Barra, where 

 very large quantities of excellent quality have been annually taken 

 for a number of years past, and shipped to various towns in the 

 country, especially in the Midland counties of England, where they 

 readily sell. Since the Highland Fisheries Company's steamer 

 ' Trojan ' began her tri-weekly sailing with the mails, that company 

 are purchasing cockles at the different places of call. Thus a more 

 regular market has been found for them than before', and it is 

 gratifying to know that this fishing ttmded in no small degree to 

 alleviate the poverty which prevailed at Barra during last winter, 

 AVhelks are plentiful on many parts of the coast, and large quantities 

 are gathered and sent to market every year. Limpets are also 

 found in considerable numbers in many places, and are regularly 

 gathered for bait, Eazor-fish are rarely found except in the sands 

 on the West Coast during low tide. They are sometimes very 

 numerous at Broad Bay, in the Island of Lewis, where they are 

 taken and sold for food. 



The considerable increase in the quantity of many food fishes increase in Fish 

 landed during the past year was partly owing to a larger number to^*^^ 

 of beam trawl vessels having been engaged in fishing, 105 having TrawHng. 

 been employed during 1885, as against 61 in the preceding year. Number of 

 Their takes of fish were usually delivered at Berwick, Eyemouth, Trawlers. 

 Newhaven, Granton, Montrose, Aberdeen, and Wick upon the East delivering 

 Coast ; and at Ayr and Stranraer on the West Coast, Fish. 



BOATS AND VESSELS. 



Table I. Appendix D, gives an account of the n-umber of boats, Fishing Boats, 

 decked and undecked, irrespective of the places to which they 

 belong, employed in the herring fishery of Scotland, in the season 

 of 1885, in a selected week for each district ; with the pumber of 



