of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 
15 
herring, thoroughly well cured and well-packed in sound barrels, 
to meet the Spanish market, if properly introduced, should find 
itself without any real competitor, but it must stand carriage and 
keep through the hot weather. Mr Smith explains that the 
supplies of dried cod-fish, which is extensively consumed in Spain, 
are now almost entirely derived from Norway, the Norwegian fish 
being frequently sold as Scotch— bacalao de Escocia. The Scotch 
cured cod, although greatly superior, appear not to keep so well as 
those from Norway. 
Over-Fishing of the Sea and Sea-Fish Culture. 
As stated, for a number of years complaints have been made as 
to a falling off in the supplies of certain fish, especially the valuable 
flat-fish, such as turbot, brill, soles, halibut, &c, and in the present 
Report Dr T. Wemyss Fulton gives the results of an inquiry made 
into the subject of over-fishing. The historical aspect of the 
question is divided into three phases or periods. It is pointed out 
that the early Scottish records do not refer to over-fishing or 
injurious fishing in the sea, except occasionally in connection with 
the herring fishery at certain places, or in estuaries ; and. that no 
Acts of the Scots Parliaments were passed dealing with this aspect 
of the fisheries, as was the case in the early Parliaments of 
England. The restrictive fishery legislation of last century, and 
the earlier part of this, so far as it applied to Scotland, almost 
exclusively affected the herring fishing. This period terminated 
some thirty-five years ago, when the movement which led to the 
Liberating Act of 1868 began ; while during the past few years 
there has been a recurrence to restriction and interference with the 
mode of fishing. 
From the statistical point of view, Dr Fulton shows, by a study 
of the fishery statistics since the establishment of the Board of 
British White Herring Fishery in 1809, the enormous development 
of the Scotch fisheries, especially on the East Coast. The average 
or mean of each quinquennial period is taken, and these prove that 
from 1825 (when the number of fishermen and fishing boats was 
first given) to 1886, there was a steady and almost continuous 
increase in the number of boats and men engaged in the sea- 
fisheries ; whilst from 1886 onwards to last year, there has been a 
steady and continuous decline. The increase has been relatively 
greater in the number, and especially in the tonnage, of the boats, 
than in the number of fishermen. In 1825-29, the mean annual 
number of men employed was 37,457, as compared with 49,160 in 
the period 1885-89 — an increase of 11,703. Last year the number 
was only 46,337. The boats increased from a mean of 8,921 in the 
first quinquennial period, to a mean of 14,494 in the last period, 
the number last year being 13,801. The tonnage and values have 
increased in even greater ratio, as has also the extent of netting 
employed in the herring fishery and the length of the lines. 
Tables are given showing the mean tonnage, values, and quantity 
of fishing gear in each quinquennial period for the last 47 years, 
