of the Fishery Board for Scotland. 
177 
II.— THE CHIEF FISHING GEOUNDS ON THE EAST COAST 
OF SCOTLAND, WITH CHARTS SHOWING THEIR 
POSITION AND EXTENT. By Dr T. Wemyss Fulton, F.R.S.E., 
Secretary for Scientific Investigations. (Plates III., IV.) 
In some of the previous Reports of the Fishery Board descriptive 
accounts have been given of a few of the fishing-grounds on the East 
Coast of Scotland, but hitherto no attempt has been made to give their 
topography in detail. The only complete works of this nature with which 
I am acquainted are the Piscatorial Atlas of the North Sea by Mr O. T. 
Olsen,* and the recently published excellent work of Captain C. F. 
Drechsel, the Superintendent of the Sea Fisheries of Denmark.! In both 
of these works the distribution of the various edible marine fishes is 
shown in a series of coloured plates. . Captain Drechsel confines himself 
to the representation of the fishing-grounds in the neighbourhood of the 
coast, while Mr Olsen represents, although necessarily on a small scale, 
the general distribution of the different species in the North Sea. The 
part dealing with Scottish waters is however meagre. An account of the 
fishings around the German Coasts has been given by Dr Hensen, with 
a number of illustrative charts ; | and a chart and description of herring- 
fishing grounds in the North Sea was recently published by Dr H. E. 
Sauvage, Director of the Station Aquicole, Boulonge-sur-mer. § 
Nine or ten years ago Mr James Johnston, a member of the Fishery 
Board, pointed out the importance of having a chart of the fishing banks 
of the North-east Coast prepared, since it is from these banks that by far 
the bulk of the Scottish fish supply is obtained. On a representation 
being made to the Admiralty, advantage was taken of H.M.S. * Triton,' 
under Commander Tizard, to begin a survey. I am not aware whether 
this has been completed. 
The accompanying charts, representing the chief fishing banks along 
the whole East Coast of Scotland, and around the Orkney and Shetland 
Isles, have been prepared from charts sent to the Fishery Officers of a 
number of East Coast districts. The Fishery Officers were — Messrs John 
Doull, John Murray, William Mair, D. Rossie, Walter Bain, Couper, 
Duthie, Melville, Gibson, Harper, Robertson, Sutherland, and Milliken, 
who, after conferences with the most experienced fishermen, marked on 
the charts the position of the various grounds. The labour of transferring 
these to the published charts was kindly undertaken by Mr W. Ramsay 
Smith, B.Sc. While the information thus given as to the location and 
extent of the various fishing banks off the East Coast does not pretend to 
be exhaustive, it will prove useful, and will pave the way for more com- 
plete examination and description. A glance at the charts will show how 
many are the important banks and spawning-grounds lying at some distance 
off the coast. With the exception of Smith Bank, in the Moray Firth, and a 
bank off the Firth of Forth, these have not yet been explored or scientifically 
investigated, owing to the fact that the ' Garland ' is not large enough to 
venture so far from shore and carry on dredging and trawling operations 
without risk. Most fishery authorities are now agreed that the exploration 
of the great off-shore fishing banks is of as much importance as that of the 
territorial waters. There is evidence that most of the spawning-grounds 
lie at distances from shore, especially those of the more valuable fishes, sucli 
* The Piscatorial Atlas of the North Sea, English and St Qcarges Channch, by 0. T. 
Olsen, F.L.S., F.R.O.S. London and Grimsby, 1883. 
t Ovr.rsigt over vore SaltvandsfiHkcrier i Nords^cn og Farvandene indcnfor Skagen, 
vned Kort og Planer. Kj0bonhavu, 1890. 
X Ueber die Belisclimig der deutsclicn Kiisten, Jahrcsbcricht der Commission In 
Kicl,fur die Jahre 1872, 1873. 
§ Bulletin Bimensucl de la. Sac. Nat. VAcclinuitation de France, 1888. 
m 
