58 



Appendices to Foitrth Annual Report 



up by fish from the open sea. In the absence of information on this 

 point it would be obviously unjust to make any distinction between 

 spawning fish on the East and on the West Coast. 



Enemies of the Herring. 



In the report of the Eoyal Commission already referred to, great stress 

 is laid on the immense destruction of herring by cod and gannets. A 

 calculation is entered into to show that the destruction of herring by 

 man is an insignificant item compared with the enormous number taken 

 as food by cod and other fishes, and by predaceous sea birds, such as the 

 gannet. This calculation is based on the assumption that gannets feed 

 on herring all the year round, and that cod take them for seven months 

 out of the twelve. I do not wish to under-estimate the immense destruc- 

 tion of herring brought about in this manner, but it appears to me that 

 this assumption is not justified. I am not acquainted with any statistics 

 which would lead one to suppose that the cod around our coasts consume 

 anything like the quantity of herring indicated in the report. I may 

 here refer to a paper on the food of the cod which I have contributed to 

 the present report. The statistics there given are the result of the 

 examination of about 300 cods' stomachs, chiefly from the East Coast. 

 Judging solely from those statistics, it appears that the principal destruc- 

 tion of herring by the cod occurs in our inshore waters during the 

 spawning season only. The fishery officer at Anstruther informs m-e that 

 although herring are abundant on the distant cod fishing ground in the 

 North Sea during the spring and summer seasons, it is seldom that any 

 herring are to be found in the cods' stomach. On the other hand, when 

 the herring come inshore to spawn, the cod and other Gadidse cause an 

 immense destruction amongst them. The case is somewhat similar at 

 Ballantrae, as a reference to the evidence given by Mr Wilson will show. 



Perhaps the herring, while in Loch Fyne, suffer less from the attacks of 

 the cod and predaceous birds than in most other districts. There are not 

 many cod in Loch Fyne, and the fishermen only follow this industry 

 when not engaged in the herring fishery. 



At Ailsa Craig there are thousands of gannets, and they undoubtedly 

 cause a very great destruction of herring during the Ballantrae fishery. 

 This, however, only lasts two or three months, and the herring then leave 

 the district. The gannets do not follow the herring to Loch Fyne, or at 

 any rate only very few do so. A few gannets may be seen any day in 

 Loch Fyne during the herring fishery, but I have never seen thousands or 

 even hundreds in a day. The few there are appear rather valuable than 

 detrimental to the fishery. These birds prove useful to the fishermen in 

 indicating the exact spot at which herring are to be found. It is only 

 when the number of gannets is excessive that the destruction of fish 

 which they cause comes to be a loss to the fishery. I conclude, therefore, 

 that so far as Loch Fyne is concerned, the cod and the gannet are not 

 responsible for a very large destruction of herring. The destruction is 

 certainly not so great as occurs in many other districts. This, however, 

 does not alter the fact that gannets are responsible for an enormous de- 

 struction of herring at certain spots around our coast, and the stock of 

 these birds might certainly be diminished with advantage. 



Day-light Fishing. 



For many years it has been the custom in Loch Fyne to use the seine 

 nets (trawls) in the day-time during a part of the season. I am told that 

 this has never happened to so great an extent as during the past season. 



