10 



Appendices to Twenty-fifth Annual Report 



the Findhom's characteristics, must be regarded as fairly severe. 

 Fortunately, the famous Sluie Pool is no longer netted. 

 Conan. The Conan continues to be severely fished. Twentj^-seven shots 



are regularly worked in 3£ miles of water, and at the top of this is 

 the cruive dyke, with its two fishing boxes. I made special 

 reference to this cruive dyke and its effects upon the local fisheries 

 in my annual report for the year 1904 (Twenty-third Annual 

 Report, Part II., p. 11). 



No other river on the east nor river of the north or west coasts 

 seems to call for special mention here. The limited amount of 

 netting which is carried on in several rivers of those coasts is 

 detailed in Appendix III., where a table showing the extent of the 

 whole net and coble fishing in the rivers of Scotland at the present 

 time is given. 



Cree and In the Solway, however, two rivers still considerably netted may 



Nlth - be referred to, viz., the Cree and the Nith. The former has a long, 



winding stretch of tidal water, and the whole of this — amounting 

 to about seven miles — is netted. The banks are uniformly mudd} r , 

 and no very precise fishing stations are adopted in mairy reaches. 

 I am informed, however, that 18 shots are regularly worked. This 

 is certainly a severe amount of netting for so small a river. In the 

 Nith the sweep netting is, for the most part, confined to the tidal 

 water below the weir at Dumfries. An occasional shot is taken 

 above this weir and at the mouth of and a short distance up the 

 Cluden tributary. The weir acts as a check to the ascent of fish, 

 and the river below Dumfries is somewhat seriously polluted, 

 although this, in so far as domestic sewage is concerned, is now 

 much improved. Nine shots may be said to be regularly worked 

 in seven miles of tidal river, and five shots occasionally worked. 

 Whammelling by a few crews of Annan- Waterfoot fishermen has 

 recently been practised at the mouth of the Nith. The operations 

 have, however, now been discontinued, the necessary permission 

 having been withdrawn. The Haaf net, peculiar to certain rivers 

 of the Solway, is also fished in the Nith. The Solway Dee is 

 peculiar in this that while only about three shots are commonly 

 worked by net and coble in tidal waters, seven yair nets and the 

 shoulder net at the doaches of Tongueland are also fished. 



Taking the details given in Appendix III. — in which are omitted 

 the localities where only an occasional cast of the net is taken, either 

 to preserve a right or on special occasions " for the house " — it is 

 found that in 29 rivers where net and coble fishing is still regularly 

 practised 293 shots may be said to be annually fished in rivers and 

 estuaries. The estimated aggregate mileage of water so fished is 

 115, the Tweed, Forth, and Tay representing 65 miles. 



Helmsdale Artificial Floods. 



On visiting the Helmsdale in J une, when most rivers had run oft" 

 to a low water-level, I was fortunate enough to witness one of the 

 artificial floods which have, since the impounding of water in 

 Badenloch, operated so successfully in this river. Owing to the 



