Fishery Board for Scotland. 
xliii 
the 30th of April, both inclusive, annually, it shall be lawful, within 
the said limits, to fish by means of a beam trawl, provided the boat 
from which the same is used is a sailing vessel of not more than eight 
tons burthen. 
III. This bye-law shall come into force from the date of its confirmation by 
the Secretary for Scotland. 
This bye-law was passed by the Board in consequence of fisher- Reasons for 
men at Greenock and Rothesay having requested that they might befng^made 1 
be allowed to continue as heretofore fishing from small sailing vessels 
by means of a beam trawl in certain waters in the Clyde, by which 
mode of fishing they and their families mainly got their livelihood. 
Some opposition was offered to there-introduction of beam trawling 
in the Clyde as being injurious to the fishing industry; but the 
Board were satisfied that in this case little if any such injury could 
arise, as the permission asked for was to be restricted to sailing 
vessels not exceeding eight tons burthen, and the area to which it 
applied was of limited extent, while the operations of these trawlers 
were usually carried on in daylight, and in waters where net or line 
fishing was not prosecuted. 
The other bye-law passed by the Board was in the following other bye- 
terms :— law made. 
Bye-law (No. 7) made by the Fishery Board for Scotland, under the powers 
conferred on the Board by the Sea Fisheries (Scotland) Amendment 
Act, 1885, and the Herring Fishery (Scotland) Act, 1889. 
I. Whereas by the Act 52 and 53, Vict. cap. 23, sec. 6, beam and otter trawl- 
ing have been prohibited within certain limits therein specified, save 
only between such points on the coast or within such other defined 
areas as may from time to time be permitted by bye-laws of the Fishery 
Board for Scotland, and subject to any conditions or regulations made 
by those bye-laws, but it is provided that the said section (6) shall not 
apply to the Sol way Firth nor to the Pentland Firth ; and whereas 
it is expedient that the experiments and observations heretofore con- 
ducted by the Fishery Board for Scotland should be continued, there- 
fore it is hereby declared that any person in the service or possessing 
the written authority of the said Fishery Board, under the hand of 
the Secretary thereof, may lawfully use, and is hereby permitted to 
use, when employed in connection with the experiments and observa- 
tions aforesaid, or other scientific purposes, the method of fishing 
known as beam trawling or otter trawling within three miles of low- 
water mark of any part of the coast of Scotland to which the said 
section (6) of the said Act applies, and within the waters specified in 
the schedule annexed to the said Act. 
II. This bye-law shall come into force from and after the date of its con- 
firmation by the Secretary for Scotland. 
The Herring Fishery Scotland Act, 1889, closed certain waters Reasons for 
specified therein against beam and otter trawling, in which ex- P assin s lt - 
periments and observations had previously been carried on by the 
Board, in order to ascertain the influence of beam trawling on the 
fish supply of the territorial waters ; and as it was expedient that 
these should be continued, this bye-law was passed. Detailed 
particulars of this work will be found under Scientific Investiga- 
tions, forming Part III. of this Eeport. 
During last year a number of complaints were made to the Complaints 
Board of contravention of the bye-laws passed in former years ^ for fishing 
closing territorial waters against beam trawling, by trawlers fishing in proscribed ° 
within the proscribed areas, and also of infringements by trawlers waters - 
of that part of the Herring Fishery (Scotland) Act, 1889, closing 
