40 



Appendices to Twenty -sixth Annual Report 



Protection— 



1. The assessable rental for 1907 was £3408. 



2. The assessment levied was £269 16s. 



3. The water bailiffs employed are 16 in number. 



4. Particulars as to prosecutions instituted are briefly as follow : — Messrs. 



George Paterson & Sous, salmon fishing lessees, Portmahomack, were 

 prosecuted, at the instance of the Board, in Tain Sheriff Court, in 

 June 1907, for failure to remove bag net leaders during the weekly 

 close time, with the result that they were convicted and fined £9. 



The Salmon Disease— 



1. Disease made its appearance this year in the month of November, and 



reached its height in November. 

 The river was free of diseased fish in December. 



2. The number of diseased fish taken from the river and destroyed was as 



follows :— 



Males. Females. 

 Kelts, .... 1 1 



The Spawning Season— 



1. Fish were first noticed spawning on 15th October. 



2. The greatest number spawned in November. 



3. Spawning ceased in the end of December. 



4. As regards numbers of breeding fish, and state of the water, the past 



spawning season is regarded as very good. 



Smolts— 



1. Smolts were noticed to be migrating seawards in April and May. 



2. As a smolt year 1907 was very good. 



Artificial Propagation of Salmon— 



1. The number of ova secured locally during the past season was 18,000. 



2. In securing ova the numbers of male and female fish captured were 



respectively 5 females, 20 males. 

 Special. — A syndicate called " The Kyle of Sutherland Fishing 

 Syndicate," consisting of eight proprietors of salmon fishings in the 

 district and one fishing lessee, leased the whole net fishings in the 

 Kyle at Bonar Bridge for five years from 1907, with the object of 

 lessening the net fishing, so as to improve the angling in all the rivers 

 above Bonar Bridge. During fishing season 1907 a weekly slap of 60 

 hours (from 6 p.m. on Saturday to 6 a.m. on Tuesday) was observed, 

 and the nets were not all worked — the net fishing having been begun 

 on 1st April and ended on -10th August. The result was that the 

 angling was improved on all the rivers, and particularly in the 

 Carron, whereas the net fishing was a heavy loss, the season's catch by 

 the nets being 1165 salmon, 1781 grilse, and 1410 sea trout. 



REPORT FROM S UTHERLA NDSHIRE DISTRICTS (EAST 

 AND WEST COAST)— HELMSDALE, BRORA, FLEET, 

 INVER, KIRKAIG, LAXFORD, AND INCHARD. 



Take of Fish— 



1. As compared with the average results of previous years, the take of fish 



generally throughout the district has been below the average. 



2. The actual number of fish caught has been as follows : — 



(a) By fixed engine— Salmon, 717 ; grilse, 1579 ; trout, 211 (West 



Coast bag nets). 



(b) By sweep net — Salmon, 714 ; grilse, 75 ; trout, 48 (Brora 



net fishings). 



(c) By rod and line — River Helmsdale, upper beats, 519 ; lower, 



802—1321. Brora, 359; Laxford, 66; Loch Stack, 22 

 salmon and 985 sea trout ; Inver, 96 ; Inchard, 54. 



