xxxvi 



Part L — Twenty -fifth Annual Report 



Slight 

 Decrease in 

 Catch and 

 Value. 



Increase in 

 Catch and 

 Value. 



(d) SHELL-FISH. 



Increase in Although the total value of shell-fish landed in Scotland in the 

 Value on 1905. y ear 1906 (£72,322) was about 2£ per cent, higher than in 1905, 

 it still fell considerably below the average for the preceding ten 

 years. The increase was referable to an improvement in the land- 

 ings of oysters, mussels, and crabs, though this was to some extent 

 counterbalanced by a falling-off in lobsters, clams, and unclassified 

 shell-fish. Towards the total value of the catch, the East Coast 

 contributed 34 per cent., the West Coast 53 per cent., and Orkney 

 and Shetland 13 per cent., these proportions being identical with 

 those of the preceding year. 



Lolisters. 



From the point of view of value, lobsters are the most important 

 contributors to the returns of shell-fish. In 1906 the total number 

 landed was 7316 hundreds, valued at £35,957. there being a 

 slight decrease, both in quantity and value, as compared with 1905. 

 The whole decrease was referable to East Coast districts (chiefly 

 Wick, where the meteorological conditions were unfavourable). 

 Orkney and Shetland and the West Coast showed slightly 

 improved returns. 



Crabs. 



The crabs are caught principally on the East Coast, and in 1906 

 this section accounted for over 91 per cent, of the total quantity 

 (20,916 hundreds) and nearly 95 per cent, of the total value 

 (£13,182), while West Coast districts contributed the bulk of the 

 remainder, Leith, Eyemouth, Wick, Montrose, and Stonehaven 

 were the principal contributors to the catch, and these districts 

 accounted also for practically the whole of the increase in value, 

 which amounted to 13 per cent, on the preceding year's figures. 



Oysters. 



Nearly 96 per cent, of the total landings (3897 hundreds) and 

 over 95 per cent, of the total value (£1568) were taken from the 

 Loch Ryan beds in Ballantrae district, the small residue being 

 obtained mainly in Inveraray district (Loch Tarbert beds). The 

 returns exhibit an increase as compared with those for 1905 of 1717 

 hundreds and ^£703, wholly referable to the Loch Ryan beds, where 

 dredging was more assiduously carried on than in the preceding 

 year. 



Mussels. 



The landings of mussels in 1906 amounted to 128,486 cwts., 

 valued at £7222, as compared with 102,927 cwts. and £6065 in 

 1905. The great bulk of the increases thus indicated was refer- 

 able to the Clyde mussel beds, and was due partly to the greater 

 demand generally for mussel bait and partly to the operations of 

 a large number of working men who took to line fishing while 

 they were idle on account of the boilermakers' strike on the Clyde. 



Clams. 



Practically the whole of the clams landed in Scotland are obtained 

 from the Firth of Forth beds. In 1906 the total quantity landed 

 was 7391 cwts., valued at £1083, as compared with 7848 cwts. and 

 £1129 in the preceding year. 



Considerable 

 Increase in 

 Catch and 

 Value. 



Considerable 

 Increase in 

 Catch and 

 Value. 



Decrease in 

 Catch and 

 Value. 



