44 
Appendices to Eighth Annual Report 
prices than any of the other round tish. The quanity landed last 
year was 16,230 cwts., valued at £8,552 — an increase over 1888 of 
9433 cwts. and £4863 respectively. In 1886, the catch only 
amounted to 1308 cwts. The average price obtained was 10s. 6d. 
per cwt., or 4d. less than in 1888. The East Coast yielded 3846 
cwts., Shetland 64 cwts., and the West Coast 12,320 cwts. 
Of the gross catch, beam-trawlers only landed 293 cwts. 
Skate. — The total quantity landed last year amounted to 50,087 
cwts., valued at £10,875, or a decrease under 1888 of 9002 cwts., 
and £1139 respectively. The average price was 4s. 4d. per cwt., 
or 4d. more than in the preceding year. Skate were more or less 
plentiful in every district, but particularly so in Stornoway, Peter- 
head, Wick, Aberdeen, and Orkney, 
Of the gross catch, beam-trawlers landed 3183 cwts., valued at 
£640, the average price obtained being 4s. per cwt. 
Other Kinds of White Fish. — The fish included under this 
heading embrace a great many varieties — the most important how- 
ever being hake, bream, gurnard, cat-fish, and sillock. The total 
quantity landed amounted to 87,363 J cwts., valued at £16,389 — a 
falling off under 1888 of 17,050£ cwts. and £3,787 respectively. 
A large proportion of the fish taken were of comparatively little- 
value, the average price being only 3s. 9d. per cwt, against 3s. lOd. 
in 1888. The districts which gave the largest returns were Aber- 
deen, Leith, Montrose, Shetland, Wick, Orkney, Buckie, and 
Fraserburgh. 
Of the gross catch, 28,176 cwts., valued at £4202 were landed 
by beam-trawlers, and sold at an average price of 2s. lid. per cwt. 
II. Different Kinds of Shell Fjsh. 
The total value of all the shell fish landed in Scotland last year 
was £63,201, against £71,728 in 1888— a falling of to the extent 
of £8527. Every variety exhibits a decrease, with the exception 
of oysters, which show a small increase over the preceding year. 
Some particulars follow as to the total quantity and value of 
each of the different kinds of shell fish landed. 
Oyster. — Last year's returns of this fishery show an improve- 
ment as compared with 1888, the total number of oysters landed 
being 3119 J hundreds, valued at £1453, or an increase over the 
preceding year of 1592 J hundreds, and £711 respectively. The 
average price obtained was 9s. 3d. a hundred, or 5d. less than in 
1888. They were only landed in one district — that of Leith — on 
the East Coast, and in tour districts on the West Coast. Inver- 
aray yielded 1402 hundreds or 44*9 per cent., and Ballantrae 
1238 hundreds or 39*6 per cent, of the total quantity landed. 
Mussel. — The total quantity landed last year was 188,834 cwts., 
valued at £11,677, against 249,627 cwts., valued at £15,366 in 
1888. The average price obtained was the same as in the pre- 
ceding year — Is. 2f d. per cwt. The most productive 'beds upon 
the East Coast are situated in the upper reaches of the Firths of 
Forth and Tay, the mouth of the Eden, Moray Firth, and the 
district of Montrose. On the West Coast the largest mussel bed 
