of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



53 



noted ill December, that the chief grounds extended to twenty miles off 

 Corsewall Point. In January, 1881, the best areas continued to be off 

 Corse wall Point and Loch Ryan, as in the previous year, and even to the 

 south of Corsewall. In February the precise positions where the 

 herrings were taken are not specified, but " the usual grounds " are 

 referred to, and by far the largest quantity this month were taken by 

 seines; in one week the record of 5540 crans was reached. On 12th 

 March it is said the herrings were "on the eve of spawning" and were 

 inferior; on 19th March they were largely spent fish, and the fishing 

 closed at the end of the mcnth. The weekly particulars are as follows : — 



December. 



January. 



February. 



March. 



Boats. 



Crans. 



Boats. 



Crans. 



Boats. 



Crans. 



Boats. 



Crans. 



171 



910 



290 



2,125 



335 



793 



256 



452 



2 



40 



158 



62 



255 



237 



158 



1,562 



130 



20 



407 



120 



297 



2,740 



180 



1,489 







345 



565 



315 



5,540 



? 



8,419 





970 





2,872 





9,310 





11,922 



The aggregate thus amounted to 25,074 crans. The summer fishing on 

 the coast was very poor, most of the boats going to Arran and Kilbrennan 

 Sound. At the beginning of November herrings were taken in Loch Ryan, 

 but heavy storms came on and put an end to the fishing ; some were also 

 got there in December, and at the end of the month off Ballantrae. In 

 January, 1882, and again in February the fishing was much interrupted 

 by the storms, but this does not account for the comparatively small 

 catches ; for example, 108 boats fishing in Loch Ryan for a night at the 

 beginning of January got only a few hundreds of herrings amongst them, 

 and three weeks later 236 boats fishing for four nights took altogether 

 only 383 crans, The bulk of the herrings up to the week ended 11th 

 February were landed at Stranraer, and presumably taken in or near 

 Loch Ryan or Corsewall Point. On 11th March a gale from the west 

 came on and, it is said, dispersed the herrings, and the fishing came to a 

 stop. It is clear, however, that the shoals this year were very much 

 smaller. The quantity taken each month was as follows, the total being 

 8,886 crans : — 



December. January. February. March. 

 178 1,183 6,188 1,337 



The summer fishing was carried on during May and June mostly on the 

 Ayrshire coast, especially near Girvan, and towards the end of June and 

 afterwards, on the other side of the Firth, in Loch Fyne and Kilbrennan 

 Sound. The winter fishing commenced on 8th December, near Girvan, 

 and continued there and also at Stranraer, but the aggregate for the 

 month was small. In January, 1883, the herrings were got both in the south 

 and the north, particularly at Lendal Bay, a few miles north of the spawning 

 banks, in 9-15 fathoms. In February there were several gales which 



