Fishery Board for Scotland. 



Ixxi 



to take part in the fishing. Further, the curers and foreign state of 

 herring merchants were able, during the season, to have constant ^l^^^^ 

 communication with each other, and sales of cured herrings known daily, 

 on the Continent, and the prices which they realised, were known 

 at Barra as soon as they took place. And, indeed, so many 

 messages were sent while the fishing was going on, that some- 

 times a stoppage took place in their transmission. At St Mary's, 

 Burra, and St Margaret's Hope in Orkney, the extension has been a 

 great boon to the fishermen, by enabling them to obtain early informa- Early informa- 

 tion as to where shoals of herrings appeared round the different Hei-rhigr^ 

 islands, so that they could at once remove to the grounds where appeared, 

 they were lying. The wire has also been most valuable, by putting 

 it in the power of fishcurers, when their supplies of salt and 

 barrels ran short at particular stations, owing to the fishing having 

 proved unexpectedly abundant, to get additional quantities quickly Additional 

 from Wick. Formerly, when communications could only be sent Barreirand 

 through the regular post, several days elapsed before such extra Sait quickly 

 supplies could be obtained, and lareje quantities of fish caught s^J^ 

 were often worthless before they arrived ; but last season they abundant, 

 were got on the afternoon or evening of the same day on which they 

 were ordered. At Eeawick and Walls in Shetland, the extension 

 has also been of great advantage to those engaged in the fishing 

 industry, and, altogether, it is a cause of much satisfaction to the 

 Board that these telegraphic wires have been laid. 



HARBOUES. Harbours. 



In Appendix E will be found a report by the engineers upon the Engineers' Re- 

 harbour works completed by the Board during the year. 



Since the constitution of the Board on 16th October 1882, they Harbours 

 have given assistance in the construction or improvement of the imp?ovecf ^ince 

 following harbours, viz.: — Rosehearty, Aberdeenshire; Findochty, constitution of 

 Banffshire ; Ness, Island of Lewis ; Crovie, Banffshire ; and St 

 Monance, Fifeshire. 



The first two of these harbour works, vi^., Rosehearty and 

 Findochty, were undertaken by the old Board, the former having 

 been begun in the summer of 1881, and the latter in the summer of 

 1882. 



The works at Rosehearty included the construction of a break- Rosehearty. 

 water head and outer rock excavation at the west harbour, the 

 erection of a return head at Port Rae Pier, the removal of rock 

 which projected beyond the wall of the breakwater at the west 

 harbour, and the reduction of the height of the rocks at the entrance 

 to Port Rae Pier. These works were all completed in the end of 

 1882, with the exception of the removal of the shoal at the entrance 

 to Port Rae Pier, for which it was agreed to place £250 at the dis- 

 posal of the Rosehearty Harbour Board, to be expended as tides 

 and weather permitted. On the works undertaken there was 

 expended by the old Board £1660, 7s. 4d., while the new Board 

 have expended £421, 3s. 3d., making a total expenditure of £2081, Total 

 10s. 7d., of which the Rosehearty Harbour Board contributed expenditure. 

 £500. 



