214 
MR. T. SOUTHWELL ON THE HERRING FISHERY. 
till the 22nd of the following January, and either keeping the 
boats at home, or protracting their voyages so as greatly to detract 
from the value of the fish when landed. Fresh fish thus brought 
very high prices ; but, unhappily, oidy a few of the larger vessels 
could face the weather. After 23rd November the Scotch boats, 
with two or three exceptions, remained in port, waiting a lull in 
the weather to take their way homeward. Two Leith steamboats 
brought in ten lasts between them on 1st December, and on the 
4th three of these boats made a final trip for a total of only two 
lasts. Till the end the catches were fair, some of the boats 
coming in heavily laden, and the prices ruled high for fish of 
good quality, £10 to £16 often being paid for salt fish, and from 
2/- to 4/2 per 100 for fresh. The total of the autumn voyage 
amounted to 11,701 as against 19,631 lasts in 1889. Of these 
3509 were taken by the Scotch boats. 
The total produce of the year’s Herring Fishery at Yarmouth 
was 14,554 lasts, compared with 23,905 lasts; and at Lowestoft 
7583 lasts, compared with 13,098 lasts in 1889, a falling of!' 
between the two years of 14,867 lasts, or more than the produce 
of the whole of the past year’s fishery from the port of 
Yarmouth. 
In the past season at Yarmouth for the first time the returns 
of the Scotch have been kept distinct from those of the home 
boats; it will thus be seen that the 150 Yarmouth boats landed 
11,000 lasts, or an average of 73 lasts each, and as the average 
price may be taken at £10 per last, the gross return would be 
£730 per boat; deducting from this the outgoings for wages, 
provisions, harbour and wharf dues, salesmen’s commission, sail- 
maker, &c., insurance, and wear and tear of nets (the last a very 
considerable item, say thirty-three per cent, on a fleet of nets 
which costs £400, and is only calculated to last three years), 
the expenses will amount to at least £420, or say £6 per last, 
leaving a profit of say £300 per boat ; by no means an excessive 
return, taking into consideration the risky nature of the business, 
and the capital employed, which at £900 for boat, and £400 for 
nets, would be about £1300. Of course it is needless to say that 
many of the boats secured far larger returns than others, but I 
believe there were much fewer actual losers than in the previous 
two years. 
