8 



Appendices to Thirteenth Annual Report 



was taken to enumerate correctly those which were set, it is possible that 

 the full complement may not have been in use at the time of my inspec- 

 tion. It is probable that this source of error is reduced to a minimum 

 on account of the season of the year at which my inspection was made ; 

 at the same time, it should be mentioned that some of the lessees south of 

 Aberdeen stated that in seasons when fish were more numerous they made 

 use of a greater number of nets. The difficulty of correctly estimating 

 the value of the plant, and the number of fishermen employed at these 

 fishings, arises from the fact that the conditions under which bag-nets are 

 used are so diverse that the expense of fixing and fishing them varies 

 greatly in different localities. 



The actual cost of a bag-net, I was informed, varies from £12 to £17, 

 10s., and the length of time it remains in a serviceable condition, from 

 two to three years, according to the position in which it is placed. The 

 cost of equipment, however, depends to a great extent on the kind of 

 moorings which are used. These again differ according to the character 

 of the coast, the depth of the water, and the nature of the bottom. When 

 a net is placed on a headland where it is exposed to strong tides and 

 the full force of the waves of the open sea, the moorings must 

 naturally be very much heavier and stronger than when set in some more 

 sheltered bay ; a greater length of mooring ropes or warps is required to 

 hold the net in deep than in shallow water ; and such^rope or warp are 

 fastened to large stones, in place of anchors, where the bottom is rocky. 

 Owing to these very varying conditions, the estimates given of the cost of 

 moorings differ very considerably, the lowest price being £5, the highest 

 nearly £20. 



The number of fishermen required to work these nets depends on the 

 position of the nets. On deep rocky shores, where bag-nets are used 

 singly and at some distance apart, considerable time is occupied in rowing 

 from one net to another, which is not the case on some shores, where, the 

 water being shallow, a number are set in a line and the lines are placed 

 close to one another. In some localities it was estimated that it required 

 four men to work five bag-nets, in others that the same number of men 

 could work nine bag-nets. 



A further item of expense in connection with bag-net fishing is the cQst 

 of the boats or cobles. As has already been explained, the bag-net is a 

 floating net which does not dry at low tide, and a boat therefore is 

 necessary to enable the fishermen to attend to it. The fish which have 

 been caught have to be brought ashore ; the leaders to be removed and 

 taken out of the water during the weekly close time ; and the nets to 

 be changed occasionally, as one of the conditions which contributes 

 principally to success in fishing is that the nets should be kept clean ; 

 therefore, for every bag-net in use it is customary to have one on shore, 

 and to change them from time to time. Special boats are built for the 

 purpose of attending to these nets. These boats, I am informed, are of 

 two sizes, viz. : — 21 feet and 23 feet long ; the former, which are four- 

 oared boats, costing £17, 6s. 6d., and the latter, which are six-oared 

 boats, £20, 2s. 6d. 



So far as I am able to learn there is not the same variation in the 

 expense of fishing with stake or fly nets as with bag-nets. The former 

 being fixed to stakes driven into the ground, and not held like the 

 latter by moorings in varying depths of water, are not subject to such 

 varying conditions. A fly-net with ropes, stakes, pins, &c, fixed on 

 the sands, together with an extra fly to change from time to time as the 

 one in use becomes foul, costs about .£35, and it requires, on an average 

 two men to work every three nets. 



