46 



Thirty -ninth Annual Report 



Port. 



No. of Inspections. 



Cases in which gear 

 found defective. 



Scottish. 



English. 



Scottish. 



English. 



Aberdeen - 



4,135 



78 



286 



1 



Granton - 



715 





20 





Dundee 



59 





1 





During the year 93 new sets of trawl boards were noted as having 

 been fitted in substitution for those considered to involve risk of 

 danger to cables. 



No case of damage to a cable attributable to Scottish trawlers 

 came under the Board's notice during the year. 



Gear Arbitration. 



In the case of many of the Scottish herring fishing vessels re- 

 quisitioned for war services the fishing gear on board was also taken 

 over by the Admiralty. Depreciation and loss resulted in numerous 

 instances, and claims for compensation were lodged by the owners 

 with the Admiralty. Difficulty was experienced in connection with 

 certain of the claims in reaching settlements satisfactory to both 

 parties, and, as recourse to legal proceedings was much to be 

 deprecated, it was decided to resort to arbitration, and at the re- 

 quest of the claimants and the Admiralty the Chairman of the Board 

 consented to act as sole arbiter in the matter. 



In all 206 claims were referred for arbitration, and the assess- 

 ments amounted in the aggregate to the sum of £29,262, 10s. 8d., or 

 after adding interest allowed under the awards, £2845, 8s. 7d., — a 

 grand total of £32,107, 19s. 3d. The arbiter's assessments in all 

 cases were accepted by both parties, and it is satisfactory to record 

 that by this means prolonged and expensive litigation was avoided. 



Telegraph and Telephone Services in the Highlands 

 and Islands. 



In view of the importance of the fisheries in the Highlands and 

 Islands, the Board are closely interested in and are frequently con- 

 sulted regarding schemes affecting the Highlands and Islands. Apart 

 from questions of transport and communications elsewhere referred to 

 in this Keport, the Board have taken part in conferences of the various 

 Government Departments concerned, which, commencing in January 

 1920, were held during the year at the instance of the Highlands 

 and Islands (Medical Service) Board (now merged in the Scottish 

 Board of Health) to arrange as far as possible for the retention of 

 certain telegraph and telephone lines erected by the General Post 

 Office during the war for naval and military purposes in the High- 

 lands and Islands. At these conferences the needs of the fishing 

 industry in respect of facilities for intercourse and communication, 

 especially in the more remote districts, were kept constantly in view. 



