8 
Part III. — Ninth Annual Report 
of line fishermen and fishing-boats prosecuting their calling along 
the Scottish coast. 
The following figures show the number of boats and fishermen 
engaged in sea-fishing for the past nine years : — 
Number of 
1882 
1883 
1884 
1885 
1886 
1887 
1888 
1889 
1890 
Fishing- 
Boats. 
14,973 
15,251 
15,384 
15,427 
15,235 
15,032 
14,797 
14,604 
14.234 
I^^umber of 
Fishermen 
and Boys. 
48,926 
49,722 
49,860 
51,097 
48,919 
49,221 
48,618 
47,943 
47,150 
Total Number 
employed in 
Sea Fishing Industry."' 
99,396 
101,011 
102,563 
101,037 
96,895 
100,194 
97,881 
99,857 
96,534 
These figures show that during last year the number of fishing- 
boats, fishermen, and other persons engaged in the sea fisheries was 
the lowest ever recorded; and that since 1885, when steam traw- 
ling began to be vigorously prosecuted along our coasts, a great and 
almost continuous decline has gone on, year after year, in the 
number of men and boats employed. Last year there were 1193 
fewer boats and 3947 fewer men than in 1885. The special 
statistics obtained also show that there has been a marked diminu- 
tion in the number of visits paid byline fishing-boats to the fishing- 
grounds within the territorial seas in recent years. In the stretch 
of coast extending from Aberdeen to North Berwick line fishermen 
in 1889 made 42,898 ' shots ' of their lines within the territorial 
waters, and only 34,501 in 1890, showing therefore a decrease of 
8397 ' shots.' At the Fifeshire village of Buckhaven careful 
statistics have been collected for a number of years by the Fishery 
officer (Mr Mair), and these show that since 1886 there has been a 
great and continuous decline ia the number of 'shots' made by 
the boats belonging to the village. In 1886 the boats there made 
7869 'shots' of their line on inshore grounds, while last year the 
number was reduced to 3396, or less than half the number five 
years previously. 
On the other hand, the number of beam-trawlers regularly fishing 
n the East Coast has greatly increased. The numbers for the 
past eight years are as follows 
Number of 
Beam-trawlers. 
1883 .... 43 
1884 
1885 
1886 
1887 
1888 
1889 
1890 
61 
105 
109 
103 
107 
110 
118 
Tonnage. 
2004 
2284 
2875 
2914 
2304 
2689 
3608 
4705 
This includes curers, coopers, and other persons, as well as the crews of trawlers. 
