of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



175 



SECTION I. 



This section contains a general description of the lochs recently 

 examined. 



First. — Lochs on the Island of Unst. 



The island of Unst is intersected by a deep valley which runs from 

 south to north, with high land on either side, and a chain of fresh water 

 lochs connected by streams running through the centre of the valley. None 

 of the lochs examined in Unst are far above the sea-level. 



Loch of Cliff. 



The most northerly, and by far the largest, is the Loch of Cliff, which 

 was examined on the 12th of July. It is about three miles long by one- 

 third of a mile broad. In the middle of the loch the average depth is said to 

 be about thirty feet : nearer the shore the depth is four or five feet. This 

 is one of the best trout lochs in Shetland. Sea-trout are often caught in it, 

 and yellow trout are always abundant. There are differences in the quality 

 of the fish in this loch. Towards the north end, near the sea, upon sandy 

 bottom, the fish are beautifully marked and of an excellent flavour. Those 

 found towards the southern extremity, where the burn enters from the 

 Loch of Whatley, are of a similar character. But about the middle of 

 the loch, and especially towards the western shore, the fish are of a dull, 

 dark colour and of an inferior flavour. Upon two small islands near the 

 centre of the loch there are the remains of buildings, — thought by some to 

 be ancient lake-dwellings. (Old chapel ruins are numerous in Unst, also 

 the remains of at least one old fort or Pictish Brough.) 



A boat was obtained, and two drags with a surface tow-net made near 

 the southern end of the loch. The hand-net was also used along the 

 adjacent shores. 



Loch of Whatley. 



Loch of Whatley is about three miles southwards from Loch of Cliff, and 

 connected with it by the burn of Mailand. It is a mile long and nearly half 

 a mile broad, and is surrounded by moss, which gives a black appearance to 

 the water. Specimens were collected by means of the hand-net, chiefly 

 along the south-eastern shore : a thorough examination by means of the 

 tow-net was impossible, as no boat was available. 



Yellow trout, generally of a small size and rather insipid flavour, are very 

 plentiful here, but no sea-trout have been observed, though the burn con- 

 necting it with the Loch of Cliff is always large enough to allow fish to 

 pass up and down freely. 



Loch of Stourhoull. 



This loch lies about one and a half miles S.W. of the Loch of Whatley. 

 It is about half a mile long and less than a quarter of a mile broad. 

 When visited on 21st Sept., there was not sufficient daylight to admit of 

 a thorough examination, and only the north end of the loch was searched. 

 There was very little vegetation near the margin, the shore being gravelly 

 with rough boulders ; and no great quantity of animalculae was visible. 

 There was, however, a large quantity of dark gelatinous pellets, said to be 

 Confervoid growths, of which specimens were secured. 



