of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 
7 
42 lbs., and by rod 15 lbs. The fishery bye-laws are not strictly 
observed. He is satisfied with the period for net fishing, but thinks 
that the rod fishing season should terminate on 20th September instead 
of 31st October as at present, and he states that his hatchery is filled 
with ova by the middle of September. 
With regard to protection, he writes that it is most insufficient : — 
There is no water-bailiff or coastguardsman. In fact, there is absolutely no 
one looking after the fisheries. It is simply disgraceful. 
Under the head of ' Illegal Fishing ' he denounces the practice of 
' scringing.' He declares that — 
There are no prosecutions whatever, although boats were caught with fish 
going into Oban. The police and Fishery Board ofiicers said they had no 
power to interfere. 
With reference to ' Natural Obstructions,' he mentions the ' Lussa 
Falls,' which I had the honour of bringing under the notice of the 
Board in my Fourth Annual Report, and states that there are ' magnifi- 
' cent spawning beds above them.' He thinks that the District Fishery 
Boards should 'have full power to improve fish-passes everywhere.' 
Concerning hatcheries he writes : — 
I have a private hatchery. It has done excellent work in improving the 
fisheries. Upwards of 50,000 ova can be reared in the hatchery. The 
Government should encourage all private and public enterprise with regard to 
the hatching of salmonidce. 
With reference to the proportion of male to female salmon, he estimates 
it at three females to one male. Lastly, in answer to the general 
question, he writes as follows : — 
If ' scringing ' is not put an end to at once salmonidce of all varieties will be 
a thing of the past on the West Coast. These poachers come at night with 
muffled oars and steal salmon out of the bag- nets. There should be a license 
for both catching and the sale of salmon, and any person exposing salmonidce 
for sale without a license should be prosecuted. Also, all fishermen having 
salmonidce in their possession without a legal salmon mesh-net should be 
prosecuted. Powerful steam launches should also be provided by Govern- 
ment and manned by coastguardsmen, to see that the weekly close time is pro- 
perly carried out at the different salmon stations. The steam-launch would 
also be useful in pursuing the scringers.* 
At Oban I met Mr Macarthur, Clerk to the Awe District Board, and The River 
he informed me that, since the reconstitution of the Awe District Board, District, 
scringing has somewhat diminished, and that there are now only six boats 
belonging to the scringers, instead of eight. He thinks that they might 
be put down by a swift steam launch, maintained at the joint expense of 
the Awe District Board and the District Board of the River Lochy, the 
latter paying the greater portion of the expense. 
In his answers to the printed queries, Mr Macarthur writes that last 
year — 
There was a decided falling off in the quantity of fish taken in the Awe dis- 
trict. Very few salmon were taken, the (quantity of grilse was much as usual. 
This is generally ascril)ed to the fact that during the spring and early summer 
months of 1889 the nets at the foot of the River Awe took immense hauls of 
fish, as the river was so small the fish could not get past the nets. 
* For a full account of 'scringing' for salmon and sea trout on the West Coast 
see my Third Report to the Boaid, pp. 166-169. * 
