of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



xi 



Whaling. 



The whaling stations in Shetland and Harris were again closed 

 down during the year. 



Improvements of Fishery Harbours. 



Work on improvement schemes for fishery harbours, on the East 

 Coast was further slowed down during the year as a result of the war, 

 and completion of a number of schemes was postponed pending the 

 return 01 normal conditions. A report for the year by the Board's 

 Consulting Engineer is printed as Appendix IV., p. 32. 



Byelaws and Regulations. 



Reference was made in last year's Report to the powers of modify- 

 ing the normal restrictions on fishing which had been conferred upon 

 the Board by the Sea Fishing (Scotland) Order, 1917, made by the 

 Food Controller under the Defence of the Realm Regulations. During 

 the year under review three Orders were made under these powers. 

 The first of these authorised beam or otter trawling by boats not ex- 

 ceeding 45 feet in keel for a limited period within the territorial waters 

 off Kincardineshire and Forfarshire, subject to certain restrictions as to 

 the size of mesh permissible, etc. The second Order permitted seine 

 or flounder-net fishing for the capture of white fish between 1st August 

 and 31st October in the territorial waters between Red Head in Forfar- 

 shire and Babbit Ness in Fifeshire, subject to certain restrictions, and 

 the third extended this permission until 30th November. 



No other change in the regulations affecting the Scottish fisheries 

 was made during the year. 



WORK IN CONNECTION WITH THE WAR. 



The special duties and work arising out of the war which devolved 

 upon the Board, have been alluded to in previous Reports, but for 

 various reasons it was not possible to give more than a bare reference 

 to the principal matters dealt with. As the year under review will 

 be the last passed under war conditions, we therefore propose to deal 

 with our activities during the war at greater length than has hitherto 

 been feasible. 



When hostilities broke out in August 1914, the fishing industry 

 was immediately dislocated, owing, inter alia, to the mobilisation 

 of the Royal Naval Reserve, in which a large number of fishermen 

 were enrolled ; the announcement by fishing boat insurance companies 

 that ordinary policies did not cover war risks ; the closing of the 

 continental markets for cured herrings ; and the general state of 

 apprehension as to the future. English drifters were recalled by 

 their owners, and Scottish vessels left for their own ports to lie up. 

 Trawlers ceased work. Curers were informed by exporters that all 

 existing contracts were cancelled, and as their capital was practically 



