xxiv 



Part I. — Twenty-fijth Annual Report 



Net Manu- 

 factories and 

 Ice Factory. 



are accounted for principally by additions to the fleet belonging to 

 the district of Aberdeen, which now numbers 166 vessels, of the 

 gross value (including value of fishing gear) of £699,000. 



It is interesting to note, in connection with the development of 

 the trawling industrjr, a statement (vide Appendix M, p. 236) in the 

 annual report of the Fishery Officer of Leith District to the effect 

 that, during the year, two net manufactories, capable of providing 

 employment for 80 women, and an ice factory had been built at 

 Leith by owners of trawl vessels belonging to that port and fitted 

 up by them with machinery of the most modern type. 



Quantity and 

 Value com- 

 pared with 

 190f». 



FISH LANDED. 



I. Total Catch. 



The total quantity and value of fish landed in Scotland (exclusive 

 of shell-fish) during the year 1906 was 7,593,369 cwts., valued at 

 £2,977,593, the catch thus showing a decrease of 262,941 cwts., 

 (ApjxB.,No. l, but the value an increase of £328,445. The falling-off in the quan- 

 p ' ' tity landed was more than accounted for by the decline in the catch 

 of herrings, (there being a net increase of about 100,000 cwts. under 

 other headings), but, notwithstanding, over 93 per cent, of the 

 improvement in value fell to be credited to the same species. 

 Towards the gross catch herrings and other net- caught fish con- 

 tributed 66 per cent,, trawled fish 25 per cent., and line fish about 

 9 per cent., these proportions showing little variation from those 

 of 1905 ; while, as regards value, the corresponding percentages 

 were 56, 32, and 12. The average price obtained was 7s. lOd. per 

 cwt., as compared with 6s. 9d. in 1905 and 5s. 7d. in 1904, the 

 improvement being due mainly to the high prices received for 

 herrings. The total value of shell-fish landed in 1906 amounted to 

 £72,322, as against £70,662 in the preceding year, the increase 

 being referable to the improvement in the crab, mussel, and oyster 

 fisheries. The gross total value of all kinds of fish landed was 

 thus £3,049,915, or over 12 per cent, in advance of the preceding 

 year's figures. When it is recollected that the total value of the 

 catch for 1905 had never previously been exceeded, it must be 

 admitted that the new record created in 1906 says much for the 

 prosperity of the Scottish fisheries. 



Returns of 

 Shell-Fish. 



Decrease in 

 Catch, but 

 Increase in 

 Value. 



II. Fish Taken by Nets. 



(a) HERRINGS. 



As in 1905 and 1904, the catch of herrings was a very large one, 

 though it fell somewhat short of the great catches in these two 

 years. The gross landings amounted to 4,979,848 cwts., or nearly 

 7 per cent, less than in the preceding year, the decline in the catch 

 being accounted for by a decrease (in the ratio of about 5 to 1) in the 

 quantities landed during the great summer and winter fishings, 

 counterbalanced to a considerable extent by the improvement in 

 the early summer fishing. Fortunately, from the fishermen's 

 point of view, the falling-off in the quantity landed was not 

 reflected in the total value received by them. High prices ruled, 



