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Appendices to Thirty-ninth Annual Report 



It is interesting to note that the year was a record one in the ice- 

 making industry in Aberdeen. The quantity of ice sold was 110,000 

 tons, compared with 65,000 tons in 1919. Many English vessels were 

 obliged to call at this port during the summer months, as supplies of ice 

 were hardly obtainable at Grimsby and Hull. Considerable quantities 

 were also sold to France. It is remarkable that the price of ice at 

 Aberdeen is cheaper than at any other place in Britain, being £1 per 

 ton, while at Grimsby the price is £1, 7s. 6d. and at Hull £1, 10s. The 

 pre-war price was 7s. 6d. per ton, but owing to the cost of plant, repairs 

 and wages, there is no prospect of an early reduction in the price now 

 current. 



Only 9 steam fishing vessels were built during the year, which is the 

 lowest number for many years past. Only 1 trawler was for Aberdeen ; 

 2 went to foreign countries and the remainder to English ports. 2 

 special vessels were built for Lowestoft of the drifter-and-trawler type. 

 They were fitted out on the same lines as French drifters with a bow 

 rudder and a portable fish room, so that the fish room can be converted 

 into a hold capable of stowing 450 herring barrels. These vessels are 

 intended for the Ymuiden herring trade, and for trawling in winter. 

 The prospects of the shipbuilding industry as regards fishing vessels 

 are extremely dull. 



For the greater part of the year the barrel-making industry was 

 fairly active notwithstanding the poor prospects facing the herring 

 trade, but the Government Guarantee stimulated production, with the 

 result that coopers were fairly well employed. The number of barrels 

 and half barrels manufactured was still considerably less than in pre- 

 war times, and one barrel factory was closed all the year owing to heavy 

 stocks on hand. The coopers' threat to strike during the summer 

 herring fishing for increased wages did not help them greatly, as by 

 their action they lost the sympathy of their employers. In December 

 a dispute regarding wages for 1921 caused a good deal of friction. 

 However, the dispute was settled by the coopers' accepting the curers' 

 terms, which consisted in a slight reduction in both barrel-making and 

 fishing wages. The prospects for coopers are by no means bright, and 

 it is feared that many will be idle for some time during 1921. 



In so far as the present position and future prospects of the fishing 

 industry are concerned, the outlook is very gloomy. The high price of 

 coal and heavy working expenses have handicapped the producers con- 

 siderably. It is feared that many of the larger trawlers will be laid up 

 by early summer unless a considerable reduction is effected in the price 

 of bunker coals. The recent losses have been so great in many cases 

 that companies will be unable to carry on as they have done. The 

 herring industry is likewise in a very discouraging position, mainly owing 

 to the unsatisfactory condition of the continental markets for cured 

 herrings, which are the mainstay of the industry. 



James Donaldson, 

 Assistant Inspector of Sea Fisheries. 



Fishery Office, 

 Aberdeen, 2lst January 1921. 



Peterhead District. 



The fishing industry in this district, the success of which depends 

 almost entirely on the produce of the herring fishery, is, in common with 

 that of many other districts, passing through the most trying period in 



