TWENTY-FIFTH ANNUAL REPORT. 



TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 



JOHN SINCLAIR, M. P., 



His Majesty's Secretary for Scotland. 



Office of The Fishery Board 

 for Scotland, 

 Edinburgh, 20th November, 1907. 



Sir, 



In continuation of our Twenty-fifth Annual Eeport, 

 we have the honour to submit — 



PAKT HI. — SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATIONS. 



GENEEAL STATEMENT. 



This part of the Twenty-fifth Annual Report deals with the 

 scientific investigations in connection with the sea fisheries of 

 Scotland, so far as they have been completed, which have been 

 conducted by the Board in 1906 by means of the Parliamentary 

 Vote granted for the purpose. 



The scientific work has, as usual, been carried out under the 

 supervision of Dr. T. Wemyss Fulton, the Scientific Superintendent 

 under the Board, the researches having been undertaken for the 

 most part at the Board's Marine Laboratory at Aberdeen, and in 

 the Firth of Clyde. The hatchery for sea fishes is also situated 

 at Aberdeen, and a statement as to the hatching work done at it 

 during the year will be found below. 



As was explained in last year's Eeport, the investigations into 

 the condition of the fishing-grounds in the Moray Firth and 

 Aberdeen Bay by means of commercial trawlers employed for that 

 purpose were interrupted at the end of the previous year. 



In the Firth of Clyde, and more particularly in Loch Fyne, an 

 investigation into the herring fishery and the natural history and 

 migrations of the herring was continued, mainly with the view of 

 throwing light on the decline in the catch of herrings there in 

 recent years, and as to whether any regulations affecting the fishery, 

 either as to the period of fishing or the methods, would be likely to 



