of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 



19 



The total quantity of fish caught and the average catch per ' shot ' in the 

 various districts for each of the years is as follows : — 





1894. 



1895. 



1896. 



1897. 



District. 





































Cwts. 



Average. 



Cwts. 



Average. 



Cwts. 



Average. 



Cwts. 



Average. 



Wick, 



19,008 



2-47 



23,009 



4-03 



31,556 



5-40 



44,258 



6-16 



Lybster, - 



4,408 



4-91 



3,977 



3-77 



4,241 



2-87 



7,118 



4-22 



Helmsdale, 



15,826 



3-52 



16,669 



4-15 



18,360 



4-71 



17,148 



4-93 



Cromarty, 



21,346 



3-07 



19,193 



2-93 



15,317 



2-51 



14,736 



2-48 



Findhorn, 



60,074 



4-04 



68,761 



4-86 



63,521 



4-46 



46,694 



2-66 



Buckie, - 



48,540 



4-21 



50,489 



4-66 



57,450 



5-05 



50,067 



4--77 



Banff, 



49,292 



2-94 



76,491 



4-77 



66,471 



3-82 



61,329 



3-701 



Total, 



218,494 



3-05 



258,590 



4-43 



256,916 



4-26 



241,350 



3-83 



It is interesting to compare the figures given in this Table with the 

 figures showing the total quantity of the same kinds of fish landed in 

 each district, and caught both within and without the closed area. 



Thus, excluding herrings, sprats, and mackerel, which are not com- 

 prised in the special statistics referred to, the total quantities, in cwts., 

 of white fish landed in each of the districts in 1897 were as follows : — 



Wick. Lybster. Helmsdale. Cromarty. Findhorn. Buckie. Banff. 

 88,440. 7,118. 17,148. 14,736. 46,694. 54,629. 61,476. 



"When these figures are compared with those given above, it will be 

 seen that almost all the line-caught fish landed in those districts are 

 taken from the closed waters of the Moray Firth. The Wick district 

 comprises only a comparatively small part of the coast of the Moray 

 Firth, while it includes the north coast of Scotland as far as Cape 

 Wrath ; and the totals for the whole district are, of course, derived from 

 the whole extent of coast within its limits. Yet almost exactly half 

 of the total quantity of line-caught fish landed in the district is drawn 

 from the Moray Firth. All the line-caught fish landed in the districts 

 of Lybster, Helmsdale, Cromarty, and Findhorn are returned as having 

 been captured in the closed waters of the Moray Firth. In Buckie 

 district, out of a total quantity of 54,629 cwts. landed, 50,067 cwts. are 

 returned as taken from the closed area; and of a total of 61,476 cwts. 

 of line-caught fish landed in the Banfi" district, 61,329 cwts. were taken 

 within the same area. 



With respect to the increase or decrease in the quantities taken by 

 line in each year in the closed waters, it will be noticed from the fore- 

 going Table that both the total quantity caught, and the average per 

 'shot' of the line, were less in 1897 than in 1896, and that a similar 

 diminution occurred in 1896 as compared with 1895. That observation 

 refers to the area taken as a whole. In two of the districts there was 

 an increase, and indeed an almost continuous increase since 1894, in the 

 quantity of fish landed. These districts are Wick and Lybster, which 

 are situated on the coast of Caithness, in the northern part of the area ; 

 the districts in the central part and on the south coast show a decrease 

 both in the total quantity caught and in the average catch per * shot.' 

 The increase in Wick district amounted to 10,702 cwts., the average per 

 *shot* having risen from from 5*40 cwts. in 1896 to 6*16 cwts. in 1897 ; 

 the quantity landed in the Lybster district rose from 4241 cwts. in 

 1896 to 7192 cwts. in 1897, the respective averages in the two years 

 being 2*87 cwts. and 4'22 cwts. 



