xl 
Ninth Annual Rejport of the 
Further bye- 
law made 
closing a 
certain portion 
of the Moray 
Firth against 
trawling. 
Reasons there- 
for. 
Objections to 
its being con- 
finned. 
Representa- 
tions in favour 
of extending 
the area 
proposed to 
be closed. 
Board unable 
to comply 
with desire of 
memorialists. 
Bye-laws now 
in operation. 
them, the Board passed, and whicli were confirmed by your Lord- 
ship — one of tham opeaing up certain waters in the Clytie to small 
sailing vessels fishing by means of a b^am trawl, and the other 
granting permission to any paraon in the service of the Board, or 
possessing their written authority, to use, when employed in con- 
nection with the experiments and observations hitherto conducted 
by the Board, or other scientific purposes, the method of fishing 
known as beam trawling, within three miles of low water mark, on 
any part of the coasts of Scotland. 
In the course of last year the Board, under their statutory 
powers, passed a further bye-law closing against beam trawling the 
waters in the Moray Firth inside of a straight line drawn from the 
Ord of Caithness to Craighead, near Buckie. The primary object 
of the Board in passing this bye-law was to prevent the capture, by 
trawlers, of immature fish, which exist in large numbers in the 
area closed, especially off Spey Bay. One of the principal fishery 
questions now being discussed, is how to prevent the wasteful 
destruction of immature fish. So important has this subject 
become in relation to the fish supply, that an International Con- 
ference was held in London last year, with the object of devising 
means to lessen it. It is believed that the capture and destruction, 
in large quantities, of such fish, is the chief cause of the diminu- 
tion in the fish supply. This is more particularly the case as 
regards the different kinds of valuable flat fishes, which are more 
easily taken by the beam trawl than other fish. Keference may 
also here be made to the special report on this subject in the Board's 
last Annual Eeport, Part III., page 10, from which it will be seen 
that immature flat-fish are by no means confined to the territorial 
v/aters, but are also found far beyond them — indeed, certain kinds 
of them are most numerous in the off"-shore waters. 
Owners of trawlers presented a Memorial praying that this bye- 
law might not receive your Lordship's confirmation, or at all events 
that the area closed by it might be restricted. It may be pointed 
out, however, that the area was considerably less than that sanctioned 
by Parliament, and that it was by no means too large for the purpose 
contemplated, especially when it is remembered that the most 
valuable fishing banks in the Moray Firth are considerably outside 
the limits of the bye-law. 
Eepresentations were also made by line fishermen in the Moray 
Firth, through an influential deputation, who waited upon the 
Board, to the effect that the area in the bye-law should be ex- 
tended to the limits sanctioned by Parliament, as it would have a 
beneficial effect on the line fishing. Statistical returns were pro- 
duced by them, showing the enormous destruction of immature 
fish by trawlers, and the injurious effect trawling operations had 
upon the fishing grounds in question. The Board, however, were 
unable to comply with the desire of the deputation, but intimated 
their intention of continuing to procure returns of stitistics, as 
well as the opinions of all persons interested, and of carrying on 
those investigations in the Moray Firth, which had been made by 
means of the ' Garland ' from time to time. 
The bye-laws mentioned above, and the others made by the 
Board, which are in operation, will be found in Appendix E. No. II. 
