84 Appendices to Thirty -seventh Annual Report 



District Rentals of Salmon Fisheries. 



The depressed state of the salmon catch displayed in the tables of 

 weight of fish sent to market and in the chart of curves accompanying 

 the Board's Report (p. xxi.) appears to be reflected in the rentals of almost 

 all the districts in Scotland. Taking the districts in which a rental of 

 four figures and over is shown, in so far as the returns at disposal allow 

 one to go, the following list can be given. It contains all the important 

 river districts on the east coast of the country, w T ith the exception of a 

 few of the northern areas where it has never been easy to separate salmon- 

 fishery from other rentals. The period covered is that affected by the 

 war. 



Difference 

 between 





1915 



1916 



1917 



1918 



first and 





£ 



£ 



£ 



£ 



last year. 



Tweed 



16,104 



16,124 



15,686 



15,268 



-1,036 



Tay . 



. 24,105 



23,622 



22,849 



21,599 



-2,506 



South Esk. 



3,438 



3,361 



3,356 



3,418 



-20 



North Esk. 



7,830 



7,637 



7,637 



7,351 



-479 



Dee . 



18,953 



18,641 



17,673 



17,405 



-1,548 



Don . 



4,351 



4,205 



4,319 



4,214 



—137 



Deveron . 



3,379 



3,268 





3,033 



-346 



Spey . 



11,507 



9,844 



9,867 



9,793 



-1,714 



Findhorn . 



3,867 



3,867 



3,967 



4,147 



+280 



Conon 



3,205 



3,205 



3,137 







Kyle 



4,545 



4,425 



4,353 



4,370 



-75 



Annan 



2,272 



2,262 



2,262 



2,124 



-148 



8,009 

 280 



-7,729 



In the twelve important districts referred to, the only one in which a 

 rise of rental has occurred is the Findhorn. The total reduction in rental 

 is £7729. In the case of the Findhorn, the rise is not accompanied by 

 any corresponding increase in the take of salmon, there being as a matter 

 of fact a decided drop in the catch during the four years under review. 

 Netting in this district is carried on both on the coast and in the estuary 

 as far up as the Broom of Moy. In the river also, on Monday mornings, 

 the net is used from the Red Craig down to the Broom of Moy, so as to 

 capture such fish as may have passed the usual gauntlet of nets during the 

 weekly close time. It follows from this that unless the river is in speci- 

 ally good running order and fish get through to Sluie, the weekly close 

 time is rendered largely inoperative. 



Obstructions in the River Findhorn. 



The middle section of the river is in a deeply cut gorge, and many 

 parts are unapproachable to the angler. Fish ascending to the lower 

 end of the gorge are met by several natural obstructions which greatly 

 hinder their ascent, especially in spring when the water is cold. The 

 more important obstructions are the Muckle Ess, and the Little Ess. 

 The first was blasted in a more or less surreptitious manner, between 

 thirty and forty years ago, and is not now a very serious obstacle, but 

 at the foot, or run out, of the pool below the obstacle the river narrows 



