20 



Fart III. — Sixteenth Annual Report 



On the other hand, the districts of Helmsdale, Cromarty, Findhorn, 

 Buckie, and Banff each showed a decrease, although the falling-off in the 

 average catch per 'shot' is not as a rule large. At Helmsdale and 

 Cromarty the diminution in the total quantity landed was trifling, while 

 a slight increase in the average per ' shot ' occurred at Helmsdale, and 

 an equally slight decrease in the average at Cromarty. At Findhorn the 

 decrease in quantity amounted to 16,836 cwts., the totals for the two 

 years being 63,521 cwts. in 1896, and 46,685 cwts. in 1897. The 

 average catch per 'shot' fell from 4*46 cwts. to 2*66 cwts. At Buckie 

 there was a decrease of about 7000 cwts., and at Banff a decrease of 

 about 5000 cwts., but the diminution in the average catch was not large. 



If we now turn to the operations of the boats which prosecuted line 

 fishing in the closed area, we shall find that while the number of * shots ' 

 made by the small boats remained practically stationary — there having 

 been only a trifling increase — the number of ' shots ' of the large boata 

 increased considerably, and this has been the tendency yearly since the 

 statistics were begun, as the following Table shows : — 





Wick. 



ILybster. 



Helmsdale. 



Cromarty. 



Findhorn. 



Buckie. 



Banflf. 



Year. 



<6 

 to 

 u 



Is 

 £ 



CO 





E 



<v 

 S 



s 



CO 



<D 



to 



e8 



a 



m 



bC 

 u 



S' 



CO 



c3 



a 



m 



bo 

 !h 

 e3 



s 



CO 



1894 

 1896 

 1896 

 1897 



396 

 1,553 

 2,774 

 3,911 



7,295 

 4,155 

 3,063 

 3,266 



22 

 90 

 208 

 264 



876 

 965 

 1,266 

 1,440 



199 

 366 

 363 

 466 



4,288 

 3,614 

 3,535 

 3,010 



83 

 12 

 13 

 3 



6,871 

 6,561 

 6,078 

 5,918 



3,132 

 2,653 

 3,772 

 4,738 



10,544 

 11 481 

 10,450 

 12,810 



2,422 

 1,929 

 2,935 

 2,537 



9,104 

 8,907 

 8,420 

 7,943 



828 

 1,107 

 1,850 

 2,120 



15,888 

 14,930 

 15,534 

 14,449 



The total number of ' shots ' made by great-line boats and by small- 

 line boats in the Moray Firth, as a whole, in each of the four years — 

 1894-1897— are as follows :— Large boats, 7082, 7710, 11,915, and 

 14,039 ; small boats, 54,866, 50,643, 48,346, and 48,836. The number 

 of * shots' made by the great-line boats in 1897 was greater than in 1896 

 in all the districts except Cromarty and Buckie ; the increase was most 

 marked in the Wick and Findhorn districts. On the other hand, the * 

 number of * shots ' made by the small-line boats increased in the Wick,. 

 Lybster, and Findhorn districts, and diminished in the other districts. 



With respect to the different kinds of line-caught fish taken in the 

 closed waters of the Moray Firth, the following Table shows the quan- 

 tities and average catches in each of the four years : — 



FISH. 



1894. 



1895. 



1896. 



1897. 



Cod 



Cwts. 



Av'rage. 



Cwts. 



Av'rage. 



Cwts. 



Av'rage. 



Cwts. 



Av'rage. 



32,571 



0-52 



47,646 



0-81 



64,663 



1-07 



79,731 



1-26 





2,169 



0-035 



2,937 



0-005 



3,868 



0-062 



3,544 



0-056 



Torek 



25 



0-002 



24 





94 





25 





Saithe 



6,120 



0-09 



5,083 



0-087 



10,636 



0-17 



11,761 



0-18 



Haddock .... 



153,529 



2-47 



178,370 



3-056 



156,703 



2-6 



126,031 



2-004 



Whiting .... 



5,845 



0-094 



5,114 



0-087 



4,836 



0-08 



3,319 



0-052 



Turbot 



5 









15 





16 





Halibut .... 



254 



0-004 



403 



0-007 



691 



0-011 



707 



0-011 



Lemon Sole .... 











19 





14 





• Flounder, Plaice, and Brill '* 



5,477 



0-088 



5,765 



0-09 



3,402 



0-056 



3,978 



0-063 





1,244 



0-02 



777 



0-013 



823 



0-013 



1,533 



0-024 





3,281 



0-053 



3,014 



0-051 



3,683 



0-061 



3,999 



0-063 



Other kinds of White Fish - 



7,976 



0-128 



9,456 



0-16 



7,483 



0-12 



6,663 



0-105 



* The fish included under this head comprise, for the most part, plaice and dabs. 



