of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 9 



of fish — large quantities of frozen fish being now consumed by the 

 Canadian troops in this country and in France. 



(iii) Man Power. 



The question of man power has been touched upon above in 

 connection with Demobilisation, but it appears clear that further 

 arrangements will have to be made for the maintenance of the industry 

 at sea. It has been suggested that this can best be secured by adopting 

 the apprenticeship system now in force at English ports for the trawling 

 industry, but it is to be borne in mind that, in so far as the Scottish 

 herring fishing industry is concerned, there is no necessity for the adop- 

 tion of such a system. Hitherto there has been no dearth of recruits for 

 this branch of the industry, these being usually forthcoming from the 

 sons and relatives of the fishermen owners, and the prospect of obtain- 

 ing an interest in the ownership of the boats or gear has served as a 

 sufficient incentive to them to enter the industry. 



In the case of the trawling industry, however, it is obvious that 

 the apprenticeship system has some advantages, and that it may have 

 to be adopted in Scotland. The number of steam trawlers belonging 

 to Scotland or working from Scottish ports is nearly 400, valued 

 according to pre-war rates at, say, £1,750,000, and employing 3500 

 men. The losses due to the war and the lack of new hands are bound 

 to operate injuriously to the industry unless measures are taken to 

 interest and attract boys to this branch of the industry. The exten- 

 sion of the system of fisherman ownership advocated in an earlier 

 part of this Memorandum would probably not of itself solve the 

 problem, but it is thought that the deficiency could be largely met by 

 providing proper facilities for teaching boys attending schools in fishing 

 towns and villages the rudiments of navigation and motor engineering, 

 and making them acquainted with the different methods of fishing 

 pursued (illustrated by models and diagrams). Advantage should also 

 be taken of such classes to stimulate interest in the subsidiary in- 

 dustries, such as boat-building and repairing, coopering, net and rope 

 making, fish curing, and other forms of preserving and marketing, all 

 of which are essential to the successful conduct of the industry. The 

 curriculum of such training should be submitted to the Board for 

 revision and approval before adoption. 



(iv) Cured Fish Trade. 



(a) Extent. — Cured herrings form the staple food of the German 

 and Slavonic peasantry, the fish being usually consumed raw with 

 potatoes. 



In the early days of the nineteenth century the export trade was 

 confined almost wholly to the West Indies and Ireland. The slave- 

 owners in the Indies found that cured herrings were both a cheap and 

 wholesome food for the slaves, and a considerable trade was developed. 

 The abolition of slavery, however, put an end to the demand, and the 

 prospects for a time were most gloomy. A trade had, however, been 

 gradually developed on the Continent after the close of the Napoleonic 

 wars, until in 1843 the export had reached 100,000 barrels, when the 

 economic measures of Sir Robert Peel induced Russia and Germany 

 c 



