44 



Appendices to Fourth Annual Report 



One way of preventing the markets being flooded with small unripe 

 herring would be to refrain from fishing in the various districts along the 

 East Coast until the fish, large and small, had reached maturity. If this 

 were done, even for one year, the problem above referred to would most 

 likely be solved. In all probability the herring would be found as abun- 

 dantly as in former years in the inshore waters, and the fish captured would 

 be larger and riper than those taken early in the fishing season of 1884 

 and 1885 from the corresponding shoals. 



That the takes during recent years have consisted chiefly of small fish 

 (so-called maties), wall be evident by a reference to Rej^orts of the Fishery 

 Board. In 1860 over 192,000 barrels of herring received the full crown 

 brand, while only 171 barrels were branded as maties; in 1870 in round 

 numbers 196,000 barrels received the full crown brand, and nearly 37,000 

 the matie brand; in 1875 the maties branded were more than half the 

 fuU herring branded (156,000 barrels of maties to 281,000 barrels of full 

 herring) ; in 1880 the full herring only outnumbered the maties by about 

 40 barrels^ ^vhile in 1885 there w^ere 300,000 barrels of maties branded 

 and only 200,000 barrels of fidl herring. It is generally admitted that 

 the great depression of the fishery industry which now prevails would, 

 to a great extent, have been prevented if half of the small herring (the 

 maties) had been left in the sea. 



Many of those who account for fewer herring being captured inshore, by 

 saying it is impossible for them to run the gauntlet of the thousands of 

 nets that are night after nighi. drifting across their path, assert that the 

 eggs are incapable of developing in deep water, and that in course of time 

 the ofl'shore shoals wdll diminish or disappear. Of this there is in the 

 meantime no evidence. As a matter of fact, for all we know there may 

 have been immense shoals of herring spawning on the banks which lie at 

 a distance of from 30 to 60 miles ofl' the Scottish Coast for centuries. 



The existence and continuance of offshore shoals will, to a great extent, 

 depend on whether the herring are able to reproduce themselves without 

 visiting the inshore spawning banks, and the success of the herring indus- 

 try will depend on whether the herring shoals, which are invaded annually 

 by our fishing fleet, continue to spawn sufliciently near the coast to render 

 their capture a profitable enterprise for our fishermen. 



Herring seem to exist in considerable numbers around the coast through- 

 out the entire year, but in order to have a successful fishing, it is necessary 

 to have large shoals moving about in limited areas. Such shoals are only 

 found on the East Coast during the winter and summer spawning seasons. 



If herring ova are capable of hatching in deep water (say from 

 60 to 100 fathoms), it may be taken for granted that almost any of the 

 many gravel-coated banks of the Is^orth Sea may serve as spawning beds. 

 The North Sea, as reference to a chart will show, is remarkably shallow. 

 If soundings are taken from Kinnaird's Head to the Naze on the south of 

 Norway, the greatest depth made until we are within some 30 miles of 

 the Norwegian Coast is 70 fathoms. The 50 fathom line is about 100 

 miles from the coast between St Abb's Head and Montrose, and in order 

 to get 50 fathoms water off Aberdeen we require to sail eastwards 50 

 miles. Between Peterhead and Orkney, however, the 50 fathom line lies 

 from 20 to 30 miles from the coast. As a matter of fact, there is only 

 one small area off the East Coast where a depth of 100 fathoms is 

 reached. This area, generally known as the ' Pot,' lies from 2 to 5 miles 

 off' Fraserburgh ; its greatest depth is 107 fathoms. 



Having seen that the North Sea is, generally speaking, very shallow, let 

 us now inquire as to whether herring eggs are capable of undergoing 

 their development in water from 50 to 100 fathoms. 



