of the Fishery Board jor Scotland. 



5 



number has greatly increased in recent years. In my inspections of 

 the Ayr and the Doon, which I also visited, I was greatly facilitated 

 by the arrangements kindly made by Mr. Macrorie. 



Aive. — In visiting this district, where nets have been entirely 

 removed from the river by the action of the Angling Association, I 

 was struck with this apparent anomaly, that the two netting stations 

 just outside the mouth of the river, owned by Ardchattan and Inver- 

 awe, are now worked by seven boats and seven nets, although each 

 proprietor has only about 200 yards of shore. This seems to be an 

 instance of the difficulty which is overcome by the regulations in force 

 in England, where a " weir-shot " may not be made within a certain 

 distance of another net. I am informed that since the removal of the 

 river nets, also, a certain, but probably limited, amount of netting has 

 been carried on in Loch Awe. There is no doubt that as the stock of 

 fish in this district increases, fishing in Loch Awe will become more 

 valuable, and, if fish are found to run sufficient^ early, rod fishing 

 for salmon will be added to the attractions of the loch. A few salmon 

 were caught on the rod in 1909. 



Other inspections were in Glen Etive, Kingairloch, Ardgower, 

 Invermoriston, and Inverpolly, at which places special interest 

 attached to the formation of salmon passes. In Appendix I. reference 

 to this subject will be found. 



Infrequency of Spawning amongst Salmon. 



A most important point, brought out by the marking of salmon 

 and by the study of the scales of fish caught at different stages of 

 growth, is that we must now modify our views as to the regular or 

 frequent spawning of the salmon. During the last twelve years 

 several thousands of salmon have been marked in Scotland, and 

 although a series of most interesting and important recaptures have 

 been made, the total number of the recaptures is, compared with the 

 number of fish marked, comparatively small. In view of the high 

 percentage of sea fish which have been recovered after marking, 

 surprise has sometimes been expressed that in rivers, where fish would 

 appear to be much more under command, the percentage is so small. 



The reason for this small return of marked fish is not that the marks 

 are lost from the fins, or that many are overlooked, but that salmon 

 do not make frequent returns to fresh water, do not spawn often in 

 their lives, and do not therefore come often within the reach of nets 

 and rods so that a chance of taking them is possible. For our 

 recapture of marked fish we are dependent on the infrequent return of 

 the spawning salmon. 



The smolt-marking carried on in the Tay has shown that the return 

 of any one season's smolts is spread over a period of fully four years. 

 Grilse are the fish which return after an absence of one year ; small 

 spring fish are those which return after a second winter in the sea ; 

 summer and autumn fish of this second season are likewise from the 

 same batch of smolts ; while large spring fish and many others, which 

 are by this time mixed up with fish of dissimilar age, are also from 

 the same batch of smolts, and are all returning to fresh water for the 

 first time; while a few fish may further be taken, up to the end of the 

 fourth season — i.e., fish fully six years of age, counting from the time 



