202 
Part III. — Tenth Annual Report 
V.— THE FISHERIES OF SHETLAND. 
By Robert Duthie, Assistant Fishery Officer.* 
From their position and configuration the Shetland isles are admirably 
suited for the seat of a great fishery, and they have been so from time 
immemorial. It is well known that Dutch vessels visited the islands 
regularly for centuries in the prosecution of the herring fishing; and, 
among other strangers, Irish smacks came to engage in the cod fishing 
about the end of the last century. 
Except trawling, for which a good deal of the sea bottom is unsuitable, 
all methods of fishing are brought into operation and all sizes of boats 
used — from the small hand line skiff with its crew of two, to the steam 
liner or the cod smack of 70 tons register and crew of 15 men. 
Vessels. — Of the fleet of fishing-smacks annually fitted out, the larger 
sized — say from 40 to 70 tons register — go to Faroe, Rockall, and Iceland; 
while the smaller vessels of from 15 to 35 tons work on the banks round 
Foula. Occasionally the crews of these vessels are engaged at a weekly 
rate of wages, but the general rule is to engage by the share, the owners 
of the vessel receiving one-half of the proceeds of the voyage and the 
crew the other, which is divided according to a fixed scale, by which the 
master and mate receive extra allowances. As an encouragement, the 
fishermen are generally paid a small premium for each score of cod they 
catch, and the reckoning is kept by a rather peculiar method. The fisher- 
man cuts off the * beard ' or feeler from the lower lip of each fish he 
hauls aboard, and these he subsequently counts out to the skipper. 
Boats. — Of the fishing boats of all classes a great number are owned 
by the fishermen, who have in some cases been assisted by loans granted 
by the Fishery Board under the Crofters Holdings (Scotland) Act of 
•■1.886. In boats owned by curers and merchants, the crews go upon the 
half-catch system. Early each year the curers engage their required 
number of large-decked, deep-sea boats for the spring cod and ling fishing 
at a special rate per cwt. for each kind of fish landed, the fish being ' headed 
'and gutted ' before they are weighed. The terms thus made also apply 
to smaller boats. The prices for 1891 were : — Cod and ling 7s., tusk 4s. 6d., 
and saithe 2s. 6d. per cwt. For halibut the price was 10s. per cwt. up to 
the end of March, 8s. for April and May, and 6s. during the rest of the 
summer. In the winter months, when halibut are scarce and more easily 
preserved, higher prices are paid. 
Fishing Grounds. — In glancing at a chart of the Shetland islands (see 
page 182 of Part III. of Board's Report for 1890), it will be seen that 
from 27 to 30 miles off the West Coast, the ground, which has a uniform 
depth of from 90 to 60 fathoms shorewards along the whole length of 
the islands, dips sharply to from 200 to upwards of 600 fathoms. Along 
this slope is the best halibut fishing ground in Shetland ; and since the 
adjacent deep water cannot, be fished, the supply is practically inexhaust- 
ible. Hauls of 5 or 6 tons of halibut are sometimes got there with one dip 
of the lines, if fishermen can get them warped along the slope. All the 
distance shorewards from this line the ground is good for long line 
fishing ; and herrings are usually abundant in June generally within a 
few miles of the coast. Along the North Coast the fishing grounds extend 
to about 40 miles off, but as you turn eastwards the 100 fathom-limit 
recedes from the coast till on an easterly course from Skerries it is 100 
miles from land. 
* I am much indebted to Mr Millikin, the District Fishery Officer,, for much 
valuable assistance in the preparation of this account. 
