of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



59 



The herring were nearly all caught in the day-time in the early part of 

 the season, and the practice was not entirely discontinued until late in 

 July. As a matter of fact, the fishermen continue the daylight fishing 

 until the shoals of herring have become so disturbed and broken up that 

 the fish can no longer be caught in the day-time. This practice is 

 undoubtedly injurious to the fishery, and no one knows this better than 

 the fishermen themselves. Every one admits the fact, and the majority 

 of the fishermen in Loch Fyne are anxious that daylight fishing should 

 be made illegal. Still they continue the same injurious practice year 

 after year. It appears that so long as one man fishes in the day-time all 

 must follow, if only in self-defence. Personal comfort is doubtless also 

 an important factor in the case. 



Weekly Close Time. 



Another object for which the Loch Fyne fishermen have agitated for 

 some years is that of a weekly close time. It is proposed that it should 

 be made illegal to catch herring in their district from sunrise on Saturday 

 until sunset on Monday. Sunday fishing is already illegal, though it is still 

 practised by a small minority of the fishermen who do not belong to the 

 district. It has been argued that such a regulation would be unfair to 

 those who come from a distance, and who do not go home at the end of each 

 week. I fail to see any unfairness in it, and some of the fishermen pre- 

 fer to return to their homes in the middle of the week, so that they may 

 return in time to make the earliest catches on Monday morning. I am 

 convinced that such a regulation would have a salutary efi'ect both on the 

 supply of fish and on the duration of the fishery. Loch Fyne is a rather 

 narrow loch, and with the hundreds of boats fishing week in and week 

 out, the shoals of fish never get any rest. Questions of this kind appear 

 to me to be simply matters of local government. If an overwhelming 

 majority of the Loch Fyne fishermen are in favour of such a regulation, I 

 see no reason why they should not have their wish. Bye-laws affecting 

 this question, and also that of daylight fishing, need not necessarily 

 apply to the whole country, and there is no doubt that such regulations 

 are more required on the South-west Coast than elsewhere. 



The Loch Fyne fishermen have also agitated for some time that it 

 should be illegal to catch herring on the West Coast from 1st February to 

 1st May. Such a regulation would doubtless be chiefly directed against 

 the Ballantrae fishing. I am not yet convinced that the Ballantrae fishing 

 is so injurious as to demand legislative interference, and therefore cannot 

 support the fishermen on this point without further evidence. There is, 

 however, no doubt in my mind that the early fishing in Loch Fyne itself 

 is not desirable. When the fish arrive in Loch Fyne they are in very 

 poor condition, and have little market value unless supplies from other 

 quarters are far short of the demand. If the fish were left alone for 

 a month, I am convinced it would be better for every one concerned. In 

 any case, the fish do not leave the district for many months, and by 

 the end of May they would be in good condition, and sell for a better 

 price. The chief end to be gained by such a regulation appears to me to 

 be that the herring may, while unmolested, have an opportunity of reaching 

 the upper waters. The upper portion of Loch Fyne is better suited for a 

 spawning ground than the lower part, and if the herring can once be 

 induced to spawn there again there would be every probability that the 

 fish would not begin to leave Loch Fyne until late in October. The 

 upper waters are, however, too narrow to admit of a large fleet of boats 

 working at one time, and it is possible that if large shoals reached there 

 they might quickly be driven out again. 



