of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



7 



taken to the .waters off the northern part of the coast of Aberdeen- 

 shire and liberated in the neighbourhood of Fraserburgh, while the 

 remainder were liberated in the waters of Aberdeen Bay and off 

 Girdleness. It is satisfactory to be able to state that the hatching 

 operations are much appreciated by the fishermen along the coast of 

 Aberdeenshire. Petitions on their behalf for the liberation of the 

 fry have been received from many of the fishing villages from Kose- 

 hearty to New burgh, and these have as far as possible been given 

 effect to. 



The number of the eggs of the plaice collected from the spawning 

 pond, and the number of fry hatched out and liberated in the sea, 

 since the hatchery was established at the Bay of Nigg, are as 

 follows : — 



Year. Eggs Collected. Fry Liberated. 



1900 . . . 43,290,000 31,305,000 



1901 . . . 65,377,000 51,800,000 



1902 . . . 72,410,000 55,700,000 



1903 . . . 65,940,000 53,600,000 



1904 . . . 39,600,000 34,780,000 



1905 . . . 40,110,000 24,500,000 



1906 . . 7,486,000 4,406,000 



1907 . . . . 1,627,000 1,282,000 



1908 . . . 15,332,000 12,296,000 



1909 . . . 19,749,000 16,615,000 



370,921,000 



286,284,000 



The decrease after 1905 was due to the fact that the services of steam 

 trawlers in the Moray Firth and Aberdeen Bay was then abandoned, 

 large supplies of living plaice for the spawning pond having previously 

 been obtained in this way. It may be added that the cost of the 

 fish-hatching work as carried on at the Bay of Nigg, in conjunction 

 with the laboratory, is small, amounting to an estimated sum of 

 about £80 per annum, representing the extra expenditure for coals, 

 oils, &c, and for occasional assistance. 



Investigations on the Herring Fishery of the 

 Firth of Clyde. 



Since the latter part of 1904 investigations have been carried on 

 with reference to the herring fishery in the Firth of Clyde, and in Loch 

 Fyne in particular, as far as the means at disposal allowed. These 

 investigations were initiated in consequence of a failure of the fishery 

 in Loch Fyne, a failure which unfortunately still continues. The 

 following figures show the quantity of herrings taken in the loch 

 during the last ten years : — 



Year. 



1900, 

 1901, 

 1902, 

 1903, 

 1904, 



Herrings 

 Caught. 

 24,743 crans. 

 29,117 „ 

 26,339 „ 

 21,198 „ 

 ' 7,827 „ 



Year. 



1905, 

 1906, 

 1907, 

 1908, 

 1909, 



Herrings 



Caught. 

 4,672 crans. 

 5,258 „ 

 3,914 „ 

 4,070 „ 

 3,684 „ 



