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THE HERRERING

{Ts

NATURAL HISTORY AND NATIONAL IMPORTANCE,

pe eink SS.

poz

ITs

NATURAL HISTORY AND NATIONAL IMPORTANCE

BY

JOHN M- MITCHELL
F.R.S.S.A., F.S.A.8., F.RP.S., &.,

AUTHOR OF THE ‘‘ NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING CONSIDERED IN CONNECTION WITH
ITS VISITS TO THE SCOTTISH COAST;” ‘‘ BRITISH COMMERCIAL LEGISLATION ;."
** MODERN ATHENS AND THE PIRZUs,” Xe.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS

F
7 - <
\ Sb ee}
: ’ od C e 4
Sani eal
EDINBURGH

EDMONSTON AND DOUGLAS
LONDON: LONGMAN, GREEN, ROBERTS, AND GREEN

/ MDCCCLXIV.

PRINTED BY NEILL AND COMPANY, EDINBURGH.

PREFACE.

Tue Royal Scottish Society of Arts having offered a
medal for the best essay ‘On the Natural History of the
Herring, considered in connection with its Visits on the
Scottish .Coast,” the author’s attention was directed to
the question, and he wrote a short paper on the subject
which obtained the medal. This success encouraged him
to attempt something more popular and elaborate; and
although interrupted by other avocations, he steadily
directed his attention to the work which he now brings
before the public. In endeavouring to obtain as much
information as possible, he has frequently visited the
fisheries on the West Coast, the East Coast, Cornwall and
the English Channel, and the coasts of Ireland. He has
been on board several of the Dutch fishing-busses, and
went to their head-quarters at Vlaardingen and Maass-
luis ; he visited the shores of the Baltic on both sides,
and the shores of the German Ocean; resided for some
time in Norway, and visited the principal fishing dis-
tricts in that country. As France is possessed of several
important fisheries, he visited most of her principal fishing

vi PREFACE.

ports from Dieppe to Marseilles, obtaining such informa-
tion from personal observation as opportunities afforded.

Portions of this work have been read before the Royal
Society and the Royal Physical Society, Edinburgh ; as
well as at the meetings of the British Association at
Oxford, Manchester, and Cambridge.

The author believes he has satisfactorily solved the
hitherto disputed questions as to food, periodical visits,
‘migration, &c.; he has also, for the first time, established
the important fact, that herrings visit our coasts twice in
the year,—that, in fact, there is a winter and a summer
herring periodically arriving on the different coasts; and
already, from this knowledge, additional supplies have
been obtained where no previous fishery existed.

The author gives here what has not hitherto been
attempted—the Geographical Distribution, and also the
Chronological Visits of the Herring, not only on the coasts
of the British Islands, but also on the other coasts where

its visits have been ascertained,

Tur Narurat History oF THE HERRING is compre-
hended in Boox First ;

In Boox SEcoND, THE DIFFERENT MODES OF FISHING AND
CURING AT HOME AND ABROAD ;

And in Book TuHirD, THE PROGRESS OF THE HERRING
FISHERY FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD TO THE PRESENT DAY as
illustrative of Irs NATIONAL IMPORTANCE.

In the preparation of this work the author has enjoyed
peculiar advantages. Living on the banks of the Forth,

PREFACE, Vil

he has had ample opportunities of examining into the
natural history of the herring and its congeners; but
he is conscious that many men enjoying these advantages
would have done more justice to the subject. It must
be remembered, however, that no such work has hitherto
been published written exclusively on the Herring, and
therefore the labour has been greater than if he had
followed the footsteps of another.

The frontispiece represents the herring at the instant
it is taken from the sea. Several specimens were photo-
graphed by Tunny and by Moffat, for the outline and form,
A drawing was made from the best of them, on stone,
which was then printed in colours and metals, at the
lithographic press, by W. and A. K. Johnston. The ©
evanescent colours were copied from fish immediately
after being taken from the water; so that the true
appearance of the herring, with all its brilliant iridescent

lustre, is faithfully represented.

Mayvituisz, Epinpurcn,

ih

a 17 :
me oe oe Pa
ee Det
at ha y Wi ay
va aa > a

CONTENTS,

BOOK I.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING.

CHAP. I.—Imrortance or THE KNowLEDGE oF THE NatURAL
AND Economica History oF THE HERRING,

CHAP. Ii.—Awn Account oF THE PRoGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT
oF THE HeRRinG FIsHERY, IN FURTHER ILLUSTRATION OF THE
IMPORTANCE OF INVESTIGATING THE NatuRrAL History oF
THE HERRING,

CHAP. III.—Hastits anp APPEARANCE OF THE HERRING WHEN
ON THE Coasts,

CHAP. IV.—Enemiss or tHE HERRING,

CHAP. V.—DEscripTion oF THE HERRING, IN ILLUSTRATION OF
its NaturAL History,

CHAP. VI—Txe Foon oF tHE HERRING,

CHAP. VII.—Pertioptcat Visits oF THE HERRING,

1. Scotland,
2. England,
3. Ireland,

4. White Sea,
5. Iceland,

§. Faroe,

7. Norway,

PAGE

14

22

34

40

CHAP.

CHAP.

. The Scotch Method,
. Yarmouth Fishery,
. Hastings Fishery, .
. Irish Coast Fishing,
. Dutch Fishery,

. Norwegian Fishery,
. Prussian Method,

. Gulf of Bothnia,

9.

SIO oP & DO =

oo

CHAP.

i
2.

CHAP.

CONTENTS.

. VII.—Prriopican Visits or tHE Herrtnc—continued.
. Sweden,

. Denmark,

. Baltic,

. Hanse Towns,

. Holland,

. France,

. Asia,

. Behring’s Straits,

. Bathurst Inlet,

. America—United States,
. Nova Scotia,

VIIT.—Micration,

BOOK I.
ON FISHING AND CURING.

T.—Or tHe Dirrerent Moves or Fisuine tHE HERRING,

Behring’s Straits, &c.,

JI.—Dirrerent Mopss or Currne,

Scotch Mode,
Dutch Mode,

IlI.—Curine or PREPARING SMOKED oR Rep HERRINGS,

Mode of Curing Sardines in France, .
French Mode of Curing Sardines (or Sprats) in Oil,

CONTENTS,

BOOK III.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING
FISHERY.

CHAP. I.—From tHe Earuiest Periop To THE APPOINTMENT
OF COMMISSIONERS IN 1808,

Anent the Making of Schippes and Busches on the quhilk
all idle men suld Jabour, . : : ;

The Time of Selling of Fish in the weer eh anent the Way-
carrying of Fish ; of the Price of Fish,

Measures of Fishe shud be marked, ;

Herrings and Quhite Fishe suld be brocht to Whee Ponies
within the Realme,

Fish slain on uther side of the ates of Forth may fs
brocht to ony Free Burgh, : :

Anent Victualling of Schippes passing to the pein Fish-
ings, and Caution to be found for their returning,

Act for Fishing and erecting of Companies for promoving of
the same, . é ; 3 :

Act anent the eee

Act anent the Loyal Curing and Packing of Bec ani
Salmon Fish, :

Act for the Encouragement of White F ishing or Bering:
Fishing,

Act for Advancing A Hateblishing the Fishing Trade in
and about this Kingdom,

CHAP. Ii.—From tHe APPOINTMENT OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF
THE British FISHERIES IN 1808 To THE PRESENT TIME,

Fishery Convention Act, 22d August 1843, 6 & 7 Vict.
cap. 79, :

Report on the Expenditure feder the Si ceed enti of a
Scotch Fishery Board,

Coast of Devon Inquiry,

1.

PAGE

129

129
242

246
277

xil

CONTENTS,
PAGE
CHAP. IL—continwed.

Questions for a Series of Observations to solve the Natural
History of the Herring, ordered by the Lords of the Com-
mittee of Privy Council for Trade, . : ‘ . 303

Additional Questions in aid of the Observations to sat the
Natural History of the Herring, ordered by the Lords
of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade, 305

Report, 1858, of Dutch Herring-Fishery 1857, 307

On Trawling in Galway ve 331

Diving for Spawn, 341

Herrings Fished or Cured i in 1862, 344

Suggestions as to the Improvement and Hitaneion of ins
Herring-Fishery, . 349

INDEX, 357
ILLUSTRATIONS.
FRONTISPIECE.—The Herring as it appears when taken from
the Sea.

Plate Il.—Clyde Herring Fishing-boat; Irish Skerries Hooker;
and Isle of Man Herring-boat, . : ; ~ Pare 27
», I11.—Penzance Herring Fishing-boats, 69
, IV.—Herring Busses of Holland, : 102

» V.—Newhaven Herring-boat, newly introduced, cine
Decked, 297

V1I.—French Fishing-vessels,

824

BO OK oT.
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING.

CHAPTER I.

IMPORTANCE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE NATURAL AND
ECONOMICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING.

Ir may be questioned whether any branch of natural
history is so important, in a national point of view, as
that relating to the herring. An improved knowledge of
its habits may enable us to add greatly to the success of
the fishery, and therefore to the national resources; and
an inquiry into its economical history, into the causes of
the wonderfully rapid and successful progress of the
fishery, may teach us how much a nation may gain by
judicious care and legislation.

The importance of the herring as a source of wealth
and power has been acknowledged by every maritime
nation ; and it may be truly said, in the language of the
editor of Baron Cuvier’s ‘ Natural History of Fishes,”*

* “ Par son inépuisable fécondité le hareng est une de ces productions
naturelles, dont l’emploi décide de la destinée des empires. La graine
du caféier, la feuille du thé, les épices de la Zone Torride, le ver qui file
la soie, ont moins influence sur les richesses des nations que le hareng de
Vocean septentrional. Le luxe ou le caprice demandent les premiers, le
besoin réclame le second. La péche de ce poisson fait partir, chaque année,

A

2 IMPORTANCE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF

that “the coffee bean, the tea leaf, the spices of the
Torrid Zone, and the silkworm, have less influence on
the wealth of nations than the herring of the northern
seas. Luxury and caprice may seek those productions,
but necessity requires the other. This fishery sends every
year, from the coasts of France, Holland, and Britain,
numerous fleets to collect, from the depths of the stormy
ocean, an abundant and certain harvest, which the vast
shoals offer to the courageous activity of these nations.
The greatest statesmen, the most intelligent political
economists, have looked on the herring fishery as the
most important of maritime expeditions. It has been
named the Great Fishery. It forms robust men, intrepid
mariners, and experienced navigators. The nations in-
dustriously occupied in this fishery know how to make it
the source of inexhaustible riches.”

We show in our chronological history of the herring
fishery the great exertions made by the British nation
at various periods to promote and encourage its progress ;
and we there explain some of the causes of the want of
success, doubtless occasioned by the want of informa-
tion on the natural history of the herring, and the conse-
quent erroneous legislation. We shall here, therefore,
only briefly give proofs of this. By Act 23 George II.
cap. 24, passed in the year 1750, bounties were offered
for the fitting out of busses to fish herrings, but they
des cétes de France, de Hollande, d’Angleterre (de la Grand Bretagne), des
flottes nombreuses pour aller chercher dans le sein d’une mer orageuse la
moisson abondante et assurée que ses legions innombrables presentent a
la courageuse activité de ces peuples. Les grands politiques, les plus
habiles economistes, ont vu dans la péche du hareng la plus importante
des expéditions maritimes. Ils l’ont surnommée la grande péche. Elle
forme des hommes robustes, des marins intrépides, des navigateurs experi-

mentés. L/’industrie qui s’empare des produits de cette péche sait en faire
Vobject d’un commerce, source des richesses inépuisables.”

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING. o

were ordered to proceed to the fishery at erroneous periods,
namely, ‘‘ to rendezvous at Campbelton, on the west coast,
on or before the 1st of September, and to continue fish-
ing to the 31st December.” The dates for this fishery
ought to have been on or before the Ist of June, and to
the 30th September. Another Act was passed in 1753,
the Act 26 George II. cap. 9, whereby it was enacted,
that to entitle the busses to the Government bounty,
they were to rendezvous at Kirkwall on or before the
12th September, and to continue fishing to the Ist Janu-
ary; while the dates, to enable the fishermen to fish
herrings when they were on the coasts, should have been
to rendezvous at Kirkwall on or before the 12th June,
and to continue fishing till lst October. This system of
error continued for a long period, and it was only after the
establishment of the Fishery Board, consisting of a body of
unpaid commissioners, who fortunately were, and whose
successors also were, intelligent and patriotic men of high
standing, that a fishery, till then of little importance, has
become one of the greatest, if not the greatest, and most
prosperous in the world. The whole system, carefully
and economically managed by the Board and its officials
and local officers, combined with judicious legislation and
arrangement, has insured that efficiency and success which
entitles it to be characterised as much superior to any
similar existing institution either at home or abroad.

The great importance of the natural history of the her-
ring is attracting at the present time the attention of
several of the principal maritime nations. We may men-
tion, to prove this, that an interesting discussion took
place at the French Academy in 1855, on the question of
the migration of the herring, but with no satisfactory or

elucidating result, from the want of knowledge of facts.
A2

4 IMPORTANCE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF

The authorities of the kingdom of Norway have also
been occupied for several years past in legislating with
the view of promoting the herring fishery on the Nor-
wegian coasts; and we have seen several of their laws
and regulations, which prove how far inferior the sys-
tem has been in that country as compared with ours.
An elaborate printed report, which was prepared by the
chief of the Royal and Civil Department of Sweden, Von
Wright, and printed by order of the King of Sweden,
entitled “ Handlingar Rorande Sillfisket” (Report on the
Herring Fishery of Sweden), endeavouring to give the
natural history of the herring, and to point out the cause
of the almost total failure of the herring fishery on the
Swedish coasts, was not long since published.

The Dutch Government is anxiously employed at the
present time in obtaining every information on the sub-
ject, and has requested and authorised the Royal Meteoro-
logical Society of that kingdom to obtain observations and
statistics as to the habitat and natural history of the
herring; and under one of their scientific naval officers,
tabular reports of the results of the observations made on
board of forty-five Dutch herring busses, are given in a
work published by authority of the Dutch Government,
and which has been considered of such importance that
the British Lords of the Privy Council for Trade have
ordered a translation of it to be made, and printed for
general information.

And thus, determined to promote or improve the herring
fishery of Holland, which had fallen off to a great extent,
the Dutch Government has, within these few months,
relaxed and altered the old fishery laws, and established
a Fishery Board, modelled on the plan of the British
Fishery Board, knowing, no doubt, the great good done

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING. 5)

in this country by the system of management and organi-
sation established by the Board in this country.

The Lords of the Privy Council for Trade of this country
have also directed their attention to the subject of the
natural history of the herring, and have sent to the vari-
ous fishing-stations printed circulars, entitled—

“1st, Questions for a series of observations to solve the
natural history of the herring.

“2d, Additional questions in aid of the observations to
solve the natural history of the herring.”

The answers required, if given, may go partly to estab-
lish a few of the facts which we endeavour to elucidate
on the natural history of the herring; but until the pre-
sent time, no report has been published of the answers
obtained by the Board of Trade. We have therefore no
doubt that the same kindness shown by our Government
to foreign nations as to the fisheries at Newfoundland,
the British American coasts, and on the Scottish coasts,
caused the Government to endeavour to obtain answers to
these inquiries, for the purpose of aiding the Dutch
Government to pursue their inquiry as to the best means
of restoring the Dutch herring fishery, the object in view,
as stated by the Dutch Meteorological Society in their
report.

We therefore consider that it is a reproach to this
country that no separate or satisfactory work has yet
been written by any one, from actual experience, to eluci-
date the natural history of this the most important of the
finny tribe, far surpassing in value, and as a source of
wealth, prosperity, and maritime strength, every other
that can be named.

Many statesmen, even such statesmen as are referred to
by the great French authority, may look on the auriferous

6 IMPORTANCE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF

deposits and gold diggings as worthy of more attention
and more legislative care and protection ; but if so, they are
egregiously wrong. What benefits have the gold diggings
of America conferred on the people of Spain? None. Nay
more, some of the best and wisest philosophical writers
have shown that the curse of too much gold may fall on
a nation as well as on an individual; and those probably
speak the truth who say that the greatness of Spain
began to decline from the period when the gold mines
became abundant, and the gambling spirit for the ac-
quisition of gold deadened enterprise and industry, and
that therefore the Spaniards sunk into a state of lethargy
or indolence; and that, although deprived to a great ex-
tent of the cause, they still suffer from the consequences,
and may be said to be only slowly advancing towards the
recovery of their former position among the nations of

Europe.* :
To prove the necessity of endeavouring thoroughly to

investigate and carefully to study the natural and econo-
mical history of the herring, several glaring errors in
some works of the very highest authority may be pointed
out, more in justification of the attempt now made to
throw as much of the light of truth as possible on a sub-
ject which involves the wellbeing and prosperity of a
large and industrious population, than from any desire to
depreciate works otherwise of the most elaborate and
interesting description.

* In encouraging the search for gold in our own colonies, are we not
losing, or sending away from our mother country, some of our most enter-
prising and useful inhabitants, not easily to be replaced? In encouraging
the search for herrings on our own coasts, as truly said by the distinguished
French author already quoted, we create those men of so much use ina
maritime nation, “intrepid and robust mariners,” besides adding annually
additional supplies of food and “inexhaustible riches.”

_ THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING. if

In Baron Cuvier’s valuable work on the Natural His-
tory of Fishes (which contains very considerable, and, to
some extent, interesting details as to the herring), edited
and enlarged by Professor Valenciennes of Paris, several
errors exist which it is necessary to refer to, seeing that
this is a work of the very highest authority. At page 35,
vol. xx., in the “ Histoire Naturelle des Poissons,” he
-says: “Les plus grandes exemplaires que nous recevous
sur nos marchés n’ont guere que dix pouces, a dix pouces
et demi, de longeur, mais nous voyous le hareng atteindre
a des dimensions beaucoup plus considerables dans les
mers du nord, nous en avons recu du Musée de Berghem
(Bergen) de treize pouces et demi de longeur. Une
remarque qui est importante c’est que dans ces mers
Septentrionale jusque dans les mers Blanc, tous les indi-
vidus ont une grosseur invariable, toujours superienne
a celles de nos harengs de la Manche dont les petites
dimensions sont egalement constantes.” This statement
is incorrect. It is true that the herrings fished in
winter, or the end and the beginning of the year, on the
coast of Norway, are very large in size, and that some are
134 inches in length. But in summer large shoals of
another description of herring, not young herrings, but
with milt and roe, approach the Norwegian coasts, and
are fished in considerable quantities, and constitute an
important fishery every year, which are not larger than
the herring of the said Manche or English Channel; and
even in some seasons on the coast of Norway they are not
larger than the seventh class, and therefore smaller than
the herrings which appear on some of our Scottish coasts
and in the English Channel.

At page 49 of the same volume, he says that the
distinguished naturalist Noel de la Morieniere (whose
acquaintance we had the pleasure to make when he was

8 IMPORTANCE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF

in this country), informed him that these herrings which
were ready to spawn were sometimes found with young
fish in their stomachs; and that these herrings were
called in Scotland ‘‘ wooljish.” This term is not used in
Scotland. It may perhaps mean either full fish or foul
fish. The first term may be applied to the herring full
of milt or roe; but the latter term is seldom if ever used
by practical men ; and, indeed, is never applicable to the
herring in any of its stages, because it is wholesome food
though full, and not unwholesome food either spawning
or spawned. ‘To prove this, it may be stated that several
thousands of barrels of empty herrings are exported and
used as food, and found to be perfectly wholesome.

He states also as his opinion, at page 08, that the
herring spawns indiscriminately anywhere, without select-
ing any position, even in the middle of the sea (“au milieu
de la mer”); but had Professor Valenciennes taken the
same trouble that others have taken, or had the same
opportunities to ascertain the truth as to this operation
which so materially interests us, having regard to the
preservation of this important fish, he would have found
that the herring is extremely select as to the spawning
ground, and does not spawn in the open sea, or “au
milieu de la mer.” And Professor Valenciennes seems to
be not aware that the greatest shoals of herrings come to
our shores, and are fished in greatest quantities, in sum-
mer and autumn ; for in page 62 of vol. xx. he says, “‘ C’est
pendant Vhiver quils apparaissent sur les cétes d'Europe.”
“Tt is during the winter that they appear on the coasts
of Europe.”

Next, Mr Yarrel, in his excellent ‘‘ History of British
Fishes,” is in error where he says—‘‘ our common herring
spawns towards the end of October or beginning of No-

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING. 9

vember, and it is for two or three months previous to this,
when they assemble in immense numbers, that the fish-
ing is carried on, which is of such great and national
importance.”

Now, this ‘common or summer herring,” which visits
the eastern coast of Scotland in summer, spawns about
the end of September and beginning of October. But
other large shoals, the winter herrings, visit our Scottish
coast in November and December, and spawn in February
and March. Therefore our coasts have both summer
and winter herrings; and but for the uncertain or tem-
pestuous nature of the winter season, it might yield as
large supplies as the summer fishery. The Clupea Leachit,
which Mr Yarrell describes as being only 7% inches in
length and 2 inches in depth, with pale yellow irides, is
altogether unknown on the Scottish coasts.

Mr M‘Culloch, in his “ Dictionary of Commerce,” gives
Pennant’s strange theory of the herrings “ coming in vast
shoals from the icy ocean ;” we shall prove, however, that
there is no foundation for this statement. He then says,
that “the Dutch have uniformly maintained their ascen-
dency in the herring fishery since the earliest period.”
Now, on the slightest inquiry, Mr M‘Culloch would have
found that this is an error. The Dutch herring fishery
has gradually declined, and the Dutch do not now cure
above 20,000 barrels; while the Scotch cure annually
about 500,000 barrels, which obtain an equal price with
the Dutch in every continental market. He then states,
that “owing to the Reformation, and the relaxed obser-
vance of Lent in Roman Catholic countries, the demand
for herrings on the Continent is now far less than in the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.” This is also a pal-
pable error. The Roman Catholic countries not only still

10 IMPORTANCE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF

consume large quantities in Lent as well as other periods
of the year, but the demand on the Continent has not
necessarily ceased or diminished on account of the Refor-
mation. So far from this being the case, the Protestants
as well as the Roman Catholics are great consumers of
our Scottish herrings; and there can be no doubt that the
consumption of these herrings on the Continent has been
annually increasing since 1815, in which year the number
of barrels exported to the Continent was only 35,891,
while 344,029 barrels was the quantity of Scottish her-
rings exported to the Continent in 1855, and which, there
is no doubt, is a much larger quantity of herrings than
was imported by the Dutch into the Continent in any
one year either in the 13th, 14th, or 19th century.

The next quotation is rather a long one, but it is so
utterly at variance with what is generally known to be
the case, that it is extraordinary that it has not been
sooner contradicted. The paragraph begins: ‘“ Impor-
tance of the Herring Fishery. Progress in Great Britain.—
There is perhaps no branch of industry the importance of
which has been so much overrated as that of the herring
fishery. For more than two centuries, company after
company has been formed for its prosecution ; fishing
villages have been built, piers constructed, boards and
regulations established, and vast sums expended in boun-
ties, yet the fishery remains in a very feeble and unhealthy
state.” After making these statements, we should have
expected to have been informed by the author in what
way “the importance of the herring fishery was over-
rated.” The mere assertion that fishing villages have
been built and piers constructed do not prove that the
importance of the herring fishery was overrated. If the
villages were built, they found inhabitants; if piers con-

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING. ini

structed, they were required, and, in truth, are not go
capacious nor so numerous as are required for such an
extensive fishery. But the fact that the herrings cured
in Scotland have increased from 35,000 barrels to 500,000
barrels annually, and upwards, gives a direct negative to
the statement that ‘“‘the fishery remains in a very feeble
and unhealthy state.”

The author then quotes a paragraph from an obscure
paper, the “ Quarterly Journal,” to the effect that the
fishing bounties had called forth a number of landsmen
to fish and cure herrings who only prosecuted the fishery
from June to September. They certainly could not fish
herrings but at the season when they could be procured.
But this assertion is erroneous when applied to the inha-
bitants of fishing villages, whose profits arising from the
herring fishery enable them to prosecute with success
the other fisheries; in short, to ply their calling with
success the whole year through.

As to the expenditure of the public money on bounties
and premiums, it may be seen that the public money
hitherto expended has been of a comparatively small
amount. It was to enable our own busses to compete
with the foreign busses on equal terms; for the bounties
given were not equivalent to the enormous custom duties
paid to Government on the raw materials required in the
construction aud equipment of the busses, and for nets
and other requisites; and even these bounties were irre-
gularly paid, and at one time altogether withheld, to the
ruin of many of the Scottish merchants. In truth, the
herring fishery has become prosperous in spite of every
obstacle thrown in its way by the erroneous Government
exactions and prohibitions, and its progress under so
many difficulties is much owing, as already remarked, to

19 IMPORTANCE OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF

the judicious regulations and superintendence of the
Fishery Board and its officers.

We shall now notice another work, which we consider
of still greater authority than M‘Culloch’s “ Commercial
Dictionary.” We allude to what has lately issued from
the press (1857) of the last edition of the ‘‘ Encyclopedia
Britannica.” The author of the article “ Ichthyology”
also adopts Pennant’s erroneous theory as to the herrings
‘‘coming from the Icy Ocean” to this extent, that he
quotes it, and says, “ In truth, we are not furnished with
sufficient data to decide the question ; but in the mean-
time we do not feel inclined entirely to reject the gene-
rally received opinion, that the herrings migrate from
north to south in summer and autumn;” and he then
proceeds to describe the “‘ vast troops” which Pennant
so fabulously mentions. He says, “‘ The shoals are gene-
rally preceded, sometimes for days, by one or two males,”—
a very difficult fact to ascertain that ‘‘one or two males
preceded, sometimes for days, the said shoals.” And he
then says, that “the largest generally go first,” and that
they “act as guides.” Surely it is impossible for any
human being to know the truth of this statement from
actual observation. He then says, “it is generally be-
lieved that the herrings captured far north are larger,
fatter, and of a better quality than those of the south ;
and for this reason, in the month of July our fishermen
go out to meet the shoals as far as Orkney and Shetland.”
This is a most extraordinary statement to be published
at this time at Edinburgh, the headquarters, we may
say, of the Scottish herring fishery. It is not generally
believed “that the herrings captured far north are fatter
and richer.” We do not know any individual of any
practical acquaintance with the subject who believes this ;

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING. 13

and “our fishermen do not go far north, to Orkney and
Shetland, to meet the shoals.” The herring fishery off
Orkney and Shetland is confined to the local boats, as far
as Scotland is concerned, and the herrings are certainly
larger ; but unquestionably they are the reverse of being
“fatter and richer” than the herrings of the localities
further south, particularly on the west coast. He then
says, “the greatest number are taken on the coasts of
Norway and Sweden, in the first of which countries it is
said that about 400 millions are taken in one year, and
sometimes 20 millions in a single fishery.” ‘The in-
habitants in the neighbourhood of Gothenburg, in Sweden,
take as many as 700 millions in a year.” These state-
ments are erroneous. The greatest number of herrings
is taken on the coasts of Scotland, and generally exceeds
the number taken in Norway; and so far from the in-
habitants in the neighbourhood of Gdthenburg, in Sweden,
taking “700 millions in a year,” lately or at present, there
has actually been no herring fishery to any extent there
since 1808 ; and, indeed, there are now hardly any caught
on the whole coast of Sweden. Seven hundred millions
are about one million barrels of herrings! We know
that the herrings forsook the coasts of Sweden fifty years
since, and yet here is a work of undoubted pre-eminence
telling us that one million of barrels of herrings are
annually fished near Gothenburg at present, while no
fishery exists in that locality to any extent! This account
has been given with every new edition of this work,
which is admittedly of the very highest authority.

CHAPTER II.

AN ACCOUNT OF THE PROGRESS AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE
HERRING FISHERY, IN FURTHER ILLUSTRATION OF THE IM-
PORTANCE OF INVESTIGATING THE NATURAL HISTORY OF
THE HERRING.

The herring fishery has been increasing with steady,
as well as rapid progress, since 1808, when the Fish-
ery Board was established. In that year there were
cured, 90,185 barrels, and in the year ending December
1855, 766,703 barrels, besides the quantity caught and
sold fresh, 180,759 barrels; making the total quantity of
herrings caught in 1855, 897,462 barrels. The great in-
crease of this fishery has tended in no small degree to
increase the wealth, and the number of the popula-
tion of the Scottish coasts; and the annual addition of the
value of the herrings must have a great and bene-
ficial influence on the prosperity, not only of Scotland,
but of the British Islands. The addition of nearly one
million sterling every year to our national wealth must
be extremely gratifying to every patriotic mind. The
success of the enterprising inhabitants at the old curing
stations roused the exertions of the inhabitants of other
places where the fishery had not been before attempted ;
while the fishery had been carried on for many years

PROGRESS OF HERRING FISHERY. 15

previously in a regular manner, in the Clyde, the Forth,
off Berwickshire, and the counties of Sutherland and
Caithness: it is only since 1815 that extensive fishery
stations have been established in Aberdeenshire, Banff-
shire, Morayshire, and Ross-shire ; at Lossiemouth, Port-
soy, Cullen, Portknocker, Findochty, Portessie, Banff,
Whitehills, Macduff, Gardenstown, Rosehearty, Pitaillie,
Fraserburgh, Peterhead, &c.; and these have become
noted places for herrings of the best quality, and as such
have added greatly to the number, and the wealth, and
prosperity of the inhabitants.

The increase of the herring fishery depends very
much on the demand for exportation, and this demand
requires to be carefully cultivated, not merely by the
curers, who may be viewed as the manufacturers of the
goods, but by the Government, which, by impartial and
just legislation, protects the interests of the fisherman,
the consumers at home, and the merchants and consumers
abroad. That there was an abundance of herrings on the
Scottish coasts was known for centuries past; but when
considerable quantities of them appeared, they were of
little remunerative value when caught, because the de-
mand was limited to the mere local consumption. Before
the specific and legalised size and quality of the manufac-
tured article—the barrel of well-cured herrings—could be
obtained as goods for commercial purposes, a merchant
abroad could not buy herrings in Scotland, there having
been no legal distinct specific form and quality. The
curer might say, my barrels are of every size, and various
in quality and price ; but the foreigner could not order nor
buy such goods, and he therefore bought herrings which
were of legalised size and good quality elsewhere ; and,
although he paid a high price, he obtained what he wished

16 IMPORTANCE OF INVESTIGATING

in Holland and other countries: and these countries are
ready to supply any quantity if Scotland should be unable
to do so.

Before a proper system of legislation was adopted in
this country, and even for some time after the system
was introduced, the demand from abroad was incon-
siderable ; but confidence having been given from years of
experience, and the trade based on a solid foundation, under
legal enactments fixing measure and quality, the business
progresses, and bids fair every year to extend and in-
crease. To prove the progress of the increase, we may
state, that in 1812 the total quantity of herrings exported

to the Continent was : ; 4,720 barrels.

In 1815 it amounted to. ; ; Sooo) ous
1840 ; OB? Dae sae
1845 : ; . 148,754 _,,
1850 , PBST A08 uk,
1855 : : ’ . 844,029 _,,

If any evidence were necessary to prove that a fixed
legal standard, applying to quantity as well as quality, is
necessary to ensure success, this statement is all that can
be wished. But we have more direct and convincing
evidence still; for when the curers in Scotland thought
any size and quality of herrings would sell abroad, and
persisted in attempting to supply foreign markets, the
attempts were failures,—aund the demand for fresh herring
being limited, the price was so low as not to induce fisher-
men to proceed to fish, and there was a limited or losing
trade. But additional evidence that a staple article, at a
fair price, will obtain its position in the market, is obtained
by the account of the importations at one of the principal
importing ports on the Continent (Stettin) for a series of
years past.

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING. bof

In 1825 there was imported there of white herrings in
barrels, from

ass Great Britain. Holland. Denmark. Norway.
($25 18,160 4.295 1960 6758
18465, -. 5 : 81,189 2457 307 44,264
eSO : . 116,538 568 470 12,507

Thus, in 1825 the British herrings imported at Stettin
was not much more than the whole quantity imported
from other countries. In 1845 it was nearly double
the quantity imported from all the other countries put
together; and in 1850, the demand for Scottish herrings
increased so much, that it formed about nine-tenths of the
whole quantity imported. In short, while the quantity ex-
ported from this country to Stettin increased annually, and
in proportion to the supply at home, the herrings of every
other country imported at Stettin have annually dimi-
nished. In 1855 the quantity exported to Stettin of
Scottish herrings was 160,572 barrels, being about nine
times the quantity sent from this country in 1825, double
the quantity in 1845, and more than a third greater than
the quantity exported thither in 1850. It might also be
shown that the quantity sent to other places has been
every year increasing, but we shall only here give the
exports in 1855, There were exported in that year to

Barrels.

Konigsberg, . : : : : : : : 14,147
Danzig, : : : : : La : 59,204
Stetfin, 5 F : ; s : : , 160,572
Hamburg, . : ‘ ‘ : : : ‘ 26,774
Harburg, q - 2 : : : 2 : 60,377
Bremen, J ‘ : : ‘ : ; 6,754
Rotterdam, for the Rhine, . : : : : 7,955
Other ports, . 3 : : : 3 3 : 8,244

Total, . : 344,029

The numerous ports and places where the herrings
B

18

IMPORTANCE OF INVESTIGATING

are caught or cured show how widely extended the fishery

is on the Scottish coasts.

The following is a list of the

stations or districts, and quantity cured in 1856 at each,

Wilts ae
Herrings cured, gutted. aa i er un
Gated ang Gutted and
SS URELE. within 24 hee eras Barrels of rn Total
hours after| 24 hours | Barrels. bulk. eee
being _|jafter being ;
caught. caught.
Barrels, Barrels. | Number. | Number. Barrels.

Leith, 4,838 114 4,164 4,170}
Eyemouth, . 12,056 101 33,001 7,210
Greenock, 9,5984 138 34 1,369
Glasgow, 18,487 102 219
Rothesay, . Li f4 1d) tc AOD 8,332}
Inverary, . 7,1263; 176 172 | 21,832
Loch Carron and Skye, 8,724 cae 864 608
Loch Shildag, 3,808 Sas Ses
Loch Broom, 1,501 40 Ago
Stornoway, . 30,875 50 0 5,346
Shetland Isles, 14,623 45 oie 92
Orkney Isles, 26,296 646 3,178 837
Wick, : 159,8843} 1540 2,372 238
Lybster, 35,990 i 67 cee
Helmsdale, 35,870 385 804
Cromarty, . 21,268 1558 2,514 bab
Findhorn, 40,864 550 3,607 1,007
Banff, : 43,9663 380 3,444 1,798
Fraserburgh 86,1724; 144 5,089 SAG
Peterhead, 27,350 382 18,4942 389
Anstruther 40,191 246 41,655 2,5564
Total of Scotland, 576,2514) 6406 |118,824 | 50,4943
Isle of Man, 58 7783) 13,8914
Grand total, 576,3094| 6406 |119,6023) 64,3853

But perhaps the most satisfactory statistical account that
can be given is the statement of the number of people
and boats directly employed in the Scottish fisheries ;
and we therefore give, in as condensed a form as possible,
the number of boats, their tonnage, and the people
employed.

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING. 19

Boats em- Fishermen,

DISTRICTS. ployed. Tonnage. coopers, &e

Leith. . F 3 12 ports or places, 501 é 2344
Eyemouth, . : 488 36 5011
Greenock, : : 581 @ 2934
Glasgow, : 2 ‘ 35 : 574
Rothesay, : : 557 2756
Inverary, ; : 1045 367 4372
Lochearron and Skye, 806 g 5184
Loch Shildag, : t i 309 G 1400
Loch Broom, . : ( 524 2 5529
Stornoway, . : j ; 468 33% 6612
Shetland Isles, : j 686 5 4291
Orkney Isles, . : : ; 623 3 4421
Wickes"; : , ; 860 8344
Lybster, . ; F 320 y 3200
Helmsdale, . : 184 j 1671
Cromarty, . : 268 96 4106
Findhorn, : : : , 338 5239
Banit '’. . ‘ ; 849 7201
Fraserburgh, . ; ; 448 3 3681
Peterhead, . ; BE i 842 7713
Anstruther, . : , 519 ‘ 6556

Totals, . , i 11,251 ; 91,139

Of these 91,1839 people directly employed, 39,266 are
fishermen ; but if we add those employed indirectly by
the money derived from the fishery, namely, the boat-
builders, sailmakers, ropemakers, mastmakers, saltmakers,
grocers, carters, porters, shipowners, sailors, and other
trades, the number will appear incredible to those who
have not had an opportunity of closely observing the
incalculable benefits accruing to the nation from the
prosperous state of such a fishery. Here we see em-
ployment to the industrious classes, while they are
adding an abundant supply of cheap and wholesome
food for the numerous population of the British Islands,
when other animal food is becoming so scarce and
expensive.

The great extent of the commerce that arises from the
fisheries may be judged of from the number of ships and

20 IMPORTANCE OF INVESTIGATING

men employed in importing salt and materials for the
fisheries, in conveying the fish on the coasts, and carry-
ing the same to British or foreign ports. By the Report
of the Honourable Commissioners of the Fishery for 1856,
page 42, it appears that the tonnage of shipping so em-

ployed amounted to ? : ; 119,148
The number of seamen . : 9,685
And the number of square yards of netting

used in the herring fishery was : 76,661,187
Valued at : : £309,866
And the value of boats aciored : £211,585

It would be difficult to give any correct estimate of the
capital employed by the fishcurers in Scotland; but when
it is known that in 1855 there were 1054 fishcurers
directly employed in purchasing herrings and curing
them for the home and foreign market, it may be sup-
posed that the capital put in circulation must be very great,
without reference to the amount circulated by those mer-
chants who principally carry on business in buying the
cured herrings.

The more rapidly the manufactured articles cease to be
of use the more employment is offered to the people; and
as the fishing vessels or boats last only a few years, and
the nets a shorter time, and as the barrels are generally
only available for one year, the continual employment
of great numbers of the working classes in procuring the
materials and making them is of no small advantage
to the community, and a ready sale is besides afforded
for numerous cargoes of hoops from the English, and
of wood from the Scottish forests, as well as from foreign
countries.

We think it necessary thus to point out not only the
great extent, but also the great importance of the her-

THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING. oT

ring fishery, as proving how much the knowledge of the
natural history of the herring is connected with the
prosperity of these kingdoms; for without such know-
ledge the important fishery is in danger of being
destroyed.

CHAPTER III.

HABITS AND APPEARANCE OF THE HERRING WHEN ON
THE COASTS.

Ir is extremely interesting to observe the herring when
on the different coasts or fishing-grounds at the usual
seasons of their approach. On some of the coasts, as on
those of Norway, the herring shoals are frequently accom-
panied or pursued by numbers of whales and aquatic
birds, which are all occupied in preying on them. The
large dark masses of the whales rising and blowing and
throwing up great quantities of the herring into the air,
sparkling and glittermg in the clear winter day; the
constant movements of the birds with shrill notes actively
engaged in seizing their easily-obtained food, vying with
man in their attacks on the countless myriads of her-
rings; and the appearance of numbers of fishing-boats
and vessels, with the sound of the voices of an active
body of fishermen—the ocean on the one side, and the
dark and lofty rocks on the other—is one of the most
extraordinary and interesting sights that can be con-
templated.

The whales which thus principally prey on the her-
ring are the Balena musculus and Balena balcnoptera,

HABITS OF THE HERRING IN THE SEA. Zo

and not the Balena mysticetus, or common whale, which
has been hitherto erroneously supposed by many to feed
on the herring.

Tt is not usual, or often, that such appearances of
whales accompanied by aquatic birds pursuing or preying
on the herring, occur on our coasts; but such a scene, as
occurs so commonly on the coasts of Norway, is sometimes
seen on our own. For instance, in the bay of Cromarty,
in 1780, a large shoal of herrings appeared, accompanied
with vast numbers of whales and porpoises beating the
water into a foam for several miles, giving it the appear-
ance as if ruffled by the sudden land squalls which blackon
the surface. Another season, in autumn, the bay of Cro-
marty appeared as if its countless waves were covered
with fish and birds; no fewer than seven whales were
seen within the short distance of half-a-mile, some of
them apparently sixty feet in length, and when they
spouted, the water thrown up was mingled with fishes,
which had a brilliant effect in the sunshine (see descrip-
tion of Moray Firth Herring Fishery, by the late Hugh
Miller). And again, in the year 1816, on the coast near
Fraserburgh, a shoal of herrings, which afforded a rich
harvest to the fishermen, was accompanied or pursued by
about 100 whales of various sizes, which remained seven
days, namely, from the 24th to 30th August, in the same
locality, accompanied by numbers of aquatic birds. This
unusual sight was observed from Kinnaird’s Head by
many of the principal inhabitants. The herrings were of
a good size, about the size of the eighth class, were full of
milt and roe, and considered by the fish-curers then at
Fraserburgh to be of very superior quality.

On the different coasts, and in many of the bays where
the herring resorts, there are sometimes, to a smaller ex-

24 HABITS AND APPEARANCE IN THE SEA

tent, during the summer, appearances of whales, and por-
poises, and birds that prey on the herring, which afford
indications to the fishermen where the greatest abundance
of herrings are; and one fisherman, who was lately fishing
off Stornoway, informs us that, while the other boats were
unsuccessful, the appearance of a whale at a certain dis-
tance induced him to cast his nets near the whale, when
he was very successful, having taken forty-eight crans, or
barrels, of very superior herrings, while the other boats
obtained only small quantities. In the beginning of the
fishing off Dunbar, if there is no appearance of herrings,
the fishermen, knowing that the gannet feeds on herrings,
watch this bird, and procure it by shooting or other-
wise, and then examine the stomach, and if they find
herrings in it, they are able to judge of the position of
the shoals; and by opening the stomach of the cod they
have discovered shoals of herrings which had left the
fishing-ground where they had been previously fishing,
and obtain, as they have done in this season while we
write, a large additional supply of herrings.

During the day the shoals are sometimes observable
near the surface, and may be seen playing on the water,
as the fishermen call it, ‘‘ making a ripple,” a dark rough-
ness similar to what we may see at the beginning of a
slight breeze, and this is sometimes observable without
the appearance of either whales or birds. The passing
near or over them, of a boat or ship, makes them instantly
dart off in every direction, leaving the appearance of long
trains of light, if at night. We have been informed by
two of the most intelligent fishermen of Newhaven, that
the herrings take considerable flights out of the sea. Off
Stonehaven, in the month of September, one of these men
saw a shoal, after the spawning season, rise up out of the

WHEN THE HERRINGS ARE ON THE COASTS. 25

water in a vast mass of many yards in extent, sparkling
and flashing, and flying several feet above the surface.
Another, when fishing for herrings above Queensferry, saw,
during the early daylight, a small shoal rise out of the
water, fly several feet above the surface, and pass over
to the other side of his nets. Both these men are quite
trustworthy. The herrings were perhaps pursued by
dogfish.

We have several times accompanied the fishermen in
their boats to the fishing-ground, that we might become
acquainted with the appearance of the herring when on
our coasts, and to ascertain, if possible, the rule which
guides the fishermen in their search for the best fishing-
ground. There is something very pleasing and exciting
when the night is very dark, and the moon, of course, not
shining; the boat rises and falls in a dark mass of water,
the water sends phosphorescent particles around the boat
at every stroke of the oar, the other boats are heard or
seen moving in the same direction. At the bows are piled
the nets ready for casting into the sea. Now and then we
come near the herrings, which to the eye appear quiescent
for a moment, in an instant they turn slightly on one
side, as if to look up at the boat, and quickly dart off, each
herring forming a line of fiery light.

We found, generally, that the fishermen had no rule
for selecting their fishing-ground, except their know-
ledge that a certain distance from the shore was the
most suitable, or that the spot chosen by them was prolific
in herrings on a previous occasion. They have, however,
to judge as to the best mode of placing the nets in con-
nection with the flow of the tides, and the safety of the
nets and boats, and the depth of the sea; taking all
these, of course, into consideration, with the view of

26 _ HABITS AND APPEARANCE IN THE SEA

making a successful capture of herrings. The nets having
been thrown overboard, if there is no shoal near the spot,
or no great appearance of herrings, the fishermen take in
part of the net to see if there is any taken; and, if there
is a scant appearance, they take up the nets and proceed to
some other place. They generally have a watch of one or
two of their number at the bows of the boat, and in some
localities they may be hunting after the herrings, either
sailing or rowing, a considerable part of the night. Here
and there they see, perhaps, one or two herrings as they
pass along darting aside like masses of fire, then they see
them more closely together, and in certain states of the
atmosphere they are guided by the reflection of the light
from the herrings “as if there were a fire burning under
the waves.” When this occurs, the fishermen throw the
nets out with every chance of success. The net is gene-
rally taken in by dawn, and nothing can exceed the
brilliancy and beauty of the tints of the herring when
taken out of the sea. Most of the herrings appear to
have been killed in the nets, as very few come into the
boat alive. The nets form a straight line, when in the
sea, of considerable length, the boat being generally at-
tached to the one end (in other cases the nets are
anchored at each end), it is almost difficult to understand
why the herring, or any other fish, gets entangled in a
wall of netting, and why, with the power of vision it
possesses, it does not move away from it. The mesh
is square, and is, or ought to be, exactly one inch,
being adapted to the size of the herring, which is gene-
rally caught by the head. It frequently occurs, that
while there are considerable numbers of herrings, at cer-
tain times they do not come into the nets; and, accord-
ing to the language of the fishermen, “they do not

: “ he ~ ’ Pa ah / ri 7 v,
A aes PrP Tha OMe tne
Baal tre Coe Cant Tesh

asl:

1G

.

HERRI

MANX

WHEN THE HERRINGS ARE ON THE COASTS. 27

strike,” and the fishing is therefore scanty. Anxious to
make an experiment as to the effect of light in attracting
them to the net, we went out with one of the fisher-
men’s boats to the middle of the Firth of Forth, during
the winter fishing, in the month of January, and used
large lighted flambeaux after the nets were thrown out,
and moved them in various directions round the boat in
the course of the night ; but the weather being intensely
cold, the fish were scarce, and, as the fishermen said, “ did
not rise,’ or rather remained quiescent below. At all
events, the lights did not seem to be effectual in adding
any great additional quantity to the take of the boat we
were in, as compared with what was caught by the other
boats. It is worth stating, however, that such was the
deceitful nature of the lights of the flambeaux in such a
situation, that the fishermen in the boats at no very
great distance were alarmed, and prepared to take up their
nets, supposing that the lights indicated the approach
of a steamer.

We have also witnessed the fishing in summer on the
west coast and in the Highland lochs, where the herrings
periodically appear. Here the risk and labour are far
less to the fishermen, although the quantity taken is
generally smaller. Surrounded by lofty hills, and shel-
tered in deep bays, the*fisherman plies his pleasant call-
ing in comparative ease and safety. We have been
several times out with the boats to witness the progress
of the fishery, but excepting now and then seeing the
waters at night shining with the phosphorescent light from
the herring moving quietly along, or quiescent in the
water, nothing otherwise indicated that herrings were
near.

We have learned some important facts by accompanying

28 HABITS AND APPEARANCE IN THE SEA

the boats to sea in winter and summer, namely, that
during the night the position of the herring in the water,
or its distance from the surface, is much connected
with the lightness and datkness of the night, and with
the coldness and warmth of the atmosphere. In dark
nights, and in mild weather, the herring swims nearest
the surface ; in moonlight, and in cold weather, it swims
nearest the bottom. The experienced fisherman well
knows and acts upon these facts; for, when the nights
are dark or the weather mild, and the depth of the sea
twelve or fourteen fathoms, the length of the buoy-rope,
or the distance of the net from the surface of the sea, is
only one to two fathoms; while in moonlight, or in
frosty weather, the fisherman lets down the net from
three to five fathoms, and finds that the greatest quantity
of herrings are near the ground, to which the nets are
allowed to descend; and it is known that the boats which
proceed to fish the early herrings about twenty miles off
Yarmouth, in May and June, have the top of the nets in
dark nights nearly level with the surface of the water, as
the surest method of taking the greatest quantity of her-
rings. It is also of importance to state, that the effects
of winds seem to be very considerable on the visits of
the herring, particularly in the winter. We have found
it almost invariably to be the casein that season that the
herring comes nearer our shores, and in greater abund-
ance, when the wind blows for any length of time towards
the coasts: for instance, if the wind in winter blows for
some time from the west, the herrings are generally more
abundant on the west coast than on the east coast, and
vice versa.

The male herring has two milts of an oblong shape
and whitish colour; and the female has two roes, which

WHEN THE HERRINGS ARE ON THE COASTS. 29

are darker than the milts; the number of eggs con-
tained in a female was found by Dr Harmer (Phil.
Trans. vol. lvii. p. 280) to be 36,960; the weight of
its body was 5 oz. 10 dr., and the weight of the roe
480 gr. Herrings have been sometimes found with the
roe of the preceding season in a bag, or covered with a
skin, in addition to the roe of the following season. At
Thurso, an intelligent fishcurer told me, that in the in-
side of a herring he found the old roe of the previous
season, the eggs of full size, covered over with two layers
of fat, and a thick dark film adhering closely to the back,
and outside of this the two other parts fully formed about
three inches in length.

After remaining on the coast for a certain number of
weeks, the herring deposits its spawn on hard, clayey, or
rocky ground, or gravel, before leaving the bays or estuaries
where it resorts. The female first ejects the roe, which is
afterwards impregnated by the ejection of the milt of the
male. Sauer describes the mode of impregnation from
actual observation, and states that in the inner harbour
of St Peter and St Paul, Kamschatka, the herrings were
extremely numerous ; and he observed that on the 7th
June the herrings made circles of about six feet in diame-
ter, and in the middle of this circle, at the bottom, another,
no doubt the female, was fixed; when the tide went out
he saw the aquatic plants and the stones covered with the
spawn, which was devoured by dogs, gulls, and crows.

We have fully ascertained that the shoals generally
fix in one locality for depositation, and that immediately
after spawning the herrings proceed to sea. The nets of
the fishermen are then often covered with the detached
unfecundated eggs of the female ; but those eggs found
loose in the nets are driven out by the pressure of the

30 HABITS AND APPEARANCE IN THE SEA

twine. The really oviparous fecundated spawn, of which
we have specimens, is of a different description, and won-
derfully manifests the sublime behests of creation. The
proper incubation, as before mentioned, is as follows :—
The female remains quiescent at the bottom, the whole of
the roe is at once deposited; the milt, thoroughly ripened
in the male, has become changed from a solid mass to a
liquid of the colour and consistency of cream; the roe,
although placed in the briny flood, becomes a firm united
mass, somewhat larger than, but similar in shape to,
the roe in a full herring. This lifeless mass, or egg-bed,
has the power of adhesion—it grasps firmly the stones,
the rocks, the sea-weed, &c. so much so, that we have
found it difficult to remove or separate it until the mass
was dried or dead; the young being thus protected from
the effects of storms and currents, to a certain extent
from being devoured by fishes, and firmly fixed, probably,
in a suitable feeding ground. ‘Thereafter, the eyes are first
observable ; at least a small black speck is first seen in the
ege. Then the head appears, and in fourteen days, or
perhaps three weeks, the young are seen in great abun-
dance near the shore, of a very small size; in six or
seven weeks more they are observed to be about three
inches in length, and move about in large shoals in
winter and spring on the various coasts, and in the
rivers and bays generally resorted to by the herring
shoals, and it is likely that they attain to full size and
maturity in about eighteen months. Lacepede says, that
in North America the spawn of the herrings have been
carried by the inhabitants and deposited at the mouth
of a river which had never been frequented by that fish,
and to which place the individual fishes from these
spawn acquired a habitude, and returned each year, bring-

WHEN THE HERRINGS ARE ON THE COASTS. 31

ing with them probably a great many other individuals of
the same species. It might perhaps add to our know-
ledge of the natural history of this animal if some of the
proprietors of sea-water fish-ponds were to make experi-
ments in the same way, by removing the spawn, or
even by transporting the herring alive. The said author
also states, that in Sweden thy have been transported
alive to waters where they were awauting. But if the
latter plan be attempted, great care must be taken to
keep the bronchial opening shut in removing them from
one water to the other, for herrings soon die in con-
sequence of the drying of the bronchies. The summer
herring spawns from the end of September to the be-
ginning or middle of October ; the winter herring spawns
in February and March.

Like other fishes of a similar form, the herring ad-
vances through the water by means of the tail, which is
moved in rapid elastic flexures, somewhat similar to the
sculling of an oar; the other fins are evidently adapted
for steadying it in its progress, and for enabling it to
rise and descend in the water, with the assistance of the
air-bladder. When the herrings swim near the surface,
if it is calm weather, the sound of their motion is dis-
tinctly heard at a small distance; and at night their
motion, if rapid, causes a beautiful bright line, from the
phosphorescent quality of the skin; and it is also said,
that when a great body of them swims near the surface,
their presence is ascertained by a strong fishy smell.

Light and heat appear to have also very considerable
influence upon the motions of the herring; for instance,
when the spring or summer has been unusually clear
and warm, we have observed that the herrings do not
come so near our coasts as they do in ordinary seasons.

32 HABITS AND APPEARANCE IN THE SEA

The cause may be, that a certain portion of light and
heat is necessary for spawning, and in such weather
they keep on the banks more distant from our shores,
and in deeper water than in ordinary seasons. As a
proof of this, the Dutch deep-sea fishermen are often suc-
cessful in those years when ours are quite the reverse.
At Limfiord (at one time the greatest fishing station in
Denmark, but now almost entirely deserted), where the
entrance to the fiord or firth is narrow and the water
shallow, the herring-fishing often completely failed when
the summer light and heat were excessive ; and the expe-
rienced fishermen there attributed this failure to that cause.
In the Firth of Forth it is sometimes found that the her-
rings deposit their spawn on the grounds or banks between
a mile or two to the westward of Queensferry and Inch-
keith, being an extent of about ten miles; but many
spawned herrings have been caught considerably to the
westward of Queensferry, and in ordinary seasons shoals
of herrings deposit their spawn on the clayey and rocky
bottom between Inchkeith and the island of May. When
the weather is clear and dry, in common seasons, the her-
rings keep at a distance from the nets, or at the bottom ;
but it has been often remarked by fishermen, that when
the nets have been in the water for a considerable time
at night, and the sky clear, few fishes came into them
until the moon rose, when they have been almost instan-
taneously filled ; so that, according to the song,

“The herring loves the merry moonlight.”
On the coast of North America lights are frequently
used, which are found of advantage in attracting the her-

rings to the nets. We have, however, tried lights at
night on board of the open boats fishing herrings during

WHEN THE HERRINGS ARE ON THE COASTS. 33

the winter season in the Forth, but found no material
advantage in so doing. A storm of wind or rain, suc-
ceeded by cloudy, calm, or hazy weather, and the wind
blowing from the sea, are considered favourable by the
fishermen. During the months of October, November,
and December of 1838, the winds continued to blow with
little interruption from the west in strong gales, and the
fishermen considered this the cause why there was no
winter herring-fishing that season in the Forth; while
the prevalence of the same wind on the west coast appeared
to have furnished an abundant supply to the Clyde fisher-
men.

While on the subject of the appearance of the her-
ring, it may be stated that we have known “ the water
telescope” to be used by the herring fishermen on the
coast of Norway, which, when the surface of the water is
muddy or obscured, penetrates several feet, and enables
the fishermen more speedily or easily to discover the
shoals ; it is of a remarkably simple and cheap construc-
tion, and might be usefully employed for similar or other
purposes on our coasts, lakes, and rivers.

CHAPTER IV.
ENEMIES OF THE HERRING.

THe most destructive enemies of the herring are un-
questionably those which swim in the ocean. Although it
has been often stated that the whale is extremely de-
structive of the herring, it is now known that the com-
mon or Greenland whale, Balena mysticetus, as already
stated, has been found not to prey on the herring, and
that those varieties of the whale tribe which are known
to feed on it frequent the Norwegian, Scottish, and Irish
coasts. As to the Balena mysticetus, or common whale,
we are informed by the talented Scoresby, in his valu-
able book ‘‘On the Arctic Regions,” that its food “consists
of various species of Actiniw, Sepice, Medusce, Cancri, and
Helices, or at least some of these species are always to be
seen wherever any tribe of whales is found stationary
and feeding. In the dead animals, however, of the very
few instances in which I have been enabled to open their
stomachs, squille or shrimps were the only substances
discovered.” (Scoresby’s Arctic Regions, vol. i. p. 469.)
And of this whale, he says, that it occurs most abun-
dantly in the frozen seas of Greenland and Davis’ Straits,
in the bays of Baffin and Hudson, in the sea on the south-
ward of Behring’s Straits, and along some parts of the

ENEMIES OF THE HERRING. 35

northern shores of Asia, and probably America. It is
never met with in the German Ocean, and rarely within
200 leagues of the British coasts.

But in contradistinction to the common whale is the
Balena musculus of Linneeus, or Balenoptera rorqual of
Lacepede, which the same author says frequents the
coasts of Scotland, Iceland, Norway, &., and is known
to feed principally on herrings, thus proving that one of
the most destructive enemies of the herring is an in-
habitant of those coasts where the latter most commonly
resorts. When in Norway making inquiries as to the
natural history of the herring, I was assured by the Nor-
wegians who engage in the herring fishery off the coast of
that kingdom, that it is constantly seen where the herrings
are generally fished, and is a good indicator of the best
locality ; and that the scene is quite lively with the great
numbers of whales and aquatic birds which constantly
attend any large shoal of herrings on that coast.

The Balena rostrata, or beaked whale, also frequents
the Norwegian and adjacent seas, and is said to feed on
herrings and other fish.

We are told by a Dutch author, that out of the stomach
of a whale styled by him ‘“ Noortkaper,” or North Caper,
more than a barrel of herrings was taken ; this whale had
been stranded or captured at Shetland. ‘“ Van een ge-
strandene of gevangen Noortkaper omtrent Hetland, ver-
tuald Frederick Martens in ziyn Groenland’s Journal van
den Jaare 1671, dat er meer dan en geheele ton haring
in ziyn Maag gevonden wierd.” (C. G. Zorgdrager’s
Bleeyende opkomst der Aloude en Hedendagsche Gren-
landsche Vischery 1727, p. 118.)

Of the seal tribe there are various kinds which un-

questionably prey upon the herring.
c2

36 ENEMIES OF THE HERRING.

Many also of the fish tribe may be named as known to
be most destructive of the herring.

The cod (Gadus, L.), for instance, devours vast quanti-
ties; from the stomach of one we are told that fifteen
full-sized herrings were taken. (Witness newspaper, 9th
February 1850.) We have often found herrings in the
stomach of this fish.

The whiting (Merlangus, L.) is also extremely de-
structive of the herring, much spawn, and large numbers
of young herrings, having been often taken out of its
stomach.

And it has been ascertained that even the salmon
(Selmo salar), in the Moray Firth, after spawning, has
been caught with full-sized herrings in its stomach.

The most voracious of all the animals that swim is
the dogfish (Squalus, L.). It is the terror of the fisher-
men.

Professor Valenciennes of Paris, in his edition cf Cuvier’s
“Natural History of Fishes,” p. 98, vol. xx., says “ that
the seamen of Dieppe have ceased to find herrings near
Larron,—which, next to Caillebarde, was one of the best
places for herrings in the English Channel,—in conse-
quence of their having been destroyed by the dogfish ; that
the fishermen of Dieppe and Boulogne observe that the
dogfish pursue the herrings principally during the day, and
contend for their prey up to the very sides of the vessel ;
that they generally cut the herring in two before swal-
lowing it, and the quantity of oil which arises in con-
sequence covers the surface of the water to a considerable
distance ; and that it occurs often to the fishermen that
they take up all the nets with nothing in them but her-
rings cut through the middle.”

Our Scottish fishermen have made similar remarks as to

ENEMIES OF THE HERRING. ot

the voracious habits of the dogfish on certain parts of our
Scottish coasts ; and owing to the destruction of the nets
from its impetuosity, they avoid those localities where it
is known to be most prevalent, however abundant the
herrings may be.

The solan-goose or gannet (Sula Alba of Fleming) is
in constant pursuit of the herring and other fishes, and
darts with great velocity into the sea, seizing and swallow-
ing them rapidly. We remember seeing the celebrated
naturalist, Dr Neill, give six large herrings to one of
these birds which he kept tame in his garden, and which
it gulped over rapidly in succession. Mr James Wilson,
brother of the late Professor Wilson, in his interesting
and amusing “ Tour round Scotland and tle Isles,” vol. ii.
p. 106, says, when describing St Kilda, as to this bird,
“Tet us suppose that there are 200,000 solan-geese in
the colony of St Kilda (we believe, from what we saw, the
computation moderate), feeding there or thereabouts for
seven months in the year. Let us also suppose that each
devours (by itself or young) only five herrings a day, this
amounts to one million; seven months (March to Sep-
tember) contain 214 days ; by which if we multiply the
above, the product is 214 millions of fish for the summer
sustenance of a single species near the island of St
Kilda.”

And the gull (Larus, L.), cormorant (Pelicanus Carbo),
and the divers (Colymbide), all take their full share of the
herrings, particularly when these are young.

Man applies many means to add to the destruction of
this useful fish. The most unwarrantable is the ground or
beam trawl-net, which, if at all used on gravelly, hard, or
rocky bottoms, must annihilate vast shoals of herrings in
a state of spawn ; and, considering the quality of the fish

38 ENEMIES OF THE HERRING.

taken by it, this instrument should be prohibited in certain
localities at certain times.

Dredging for shell-fish may also be injurious in raking
up the deposited spawn in certain places, and ought to
be used with caution. At certain seasons the fishermen
use nets with a small mesh, ostensibly to fish sprats, but
in doing so a great many of the young herrings are taken,
which must be pernicious to the herring fishery, and
therefore ought to be carefully watched, and prevented
when found to be destructive of the young fry.

The cruive or wicker-basket of a particular form, fixed
in the tideway of some of our rivers and coasts, takes often
large quantities of herrings of all sizes; even clear un-
baited hooks, also baited, and artificial flies, have often
been used successfully at the beginning of the season in
taking herrings.

The circular nets enclose vast numbers of herrings, and
are often used-on the coast of Ireland, and these nets are
of such size and strength on the coast of Norway that
several thousand barrels have been taken in one net at
one time in some of the bays and creeks in Norway.

Some very able papers have been written by Mr Cleg-
horn of Wick, to. prove that the shoals of herrings on our
Scottish coasts are diminishing in consequence of the
great number of boats and nets employed on our coasts in
fishing herrings ; but the reproductive nature of the her-
ring is so great, that, if due care is taken not to disturb
the spawn-ground by the above-mentioned destructive
trawling for flat fish, or by other means to drive away
the shoals, such as fishing during the day (as to which
the Legislature should give full powers to those having
authority), little fear need be entertained as to the future
prospects of the herring fishery.

ENEMIES OF TIE HERRING. 39

We are also of opinion, that any operation which tends
to disturb or scare the herring may drive away or diminish
the shoals; such as leaving the nets loaded with herrings
in the water when they are unable to be taken out in con-
sequence of their weight, throwing the refuse into the sea
after gutting the herring, as is done by the Dutch busses,
or allowing the refuse of the oil of the herrings to go into
the sea, as was done on the Swedish coast.

CTA PTEE: V.

DESCRIPTION OF THE HERRING, IN ILLUSTRATION OF ITS
NATURAL HISTORY,

CiLupEeA.—On our coasts, of this genus there are the Clupea
harengus, or Herring; Clupea pilchardus, Pilchard or
Gipsy-herring ; Clupea sprattus, Sprat—in Scotland, Gar-
vie ; and Clupea alba, or Whitebait.

The specific characters of the herring, as distinguishing
it from the other fishes of the genus, are,—the dorsal
or back fin is half-way between the point of the upper
jaw and the end of the longest ray of the caudal or
tail fin, and the ventral or belly fin is under the dorsal fin.

The Sprat is known from the young herring by having
the belly serrated or supplied with bony points, in number
thirty-three, and the ventral fins nearer the head. In
the young herring the head falls off more in a straight
line from the back, and the body is more flattened in the
sides than that of the sprat; the full-grown sprat is also
much broader and rounder in the belly than a young her-
ring of the same length, and has the milt or roe formed
in it at the spawning season, which the young herring
of a similar size of course has not.

DESCRIPTION OF THE HERRING, ETC, 41

The Pilchard and the herring are of a similar size,
but the former differs from the latter by having the
back much thicker in proportion, with straighter lines on
the back and belly; and if suspended by the dorsal fin,
the pilchard hangs in equilibrium, while the herring is
heavier by the head ; it will be also seen that the scales
of the pilchard are larger and fewer than those of the
herring.

The Whitebait is of a lighter colour, has the belly
more serrated, and its dorsal fin nearer the end of the tail ;
the head is one-fourth the length of the body, while in
the young herring of the size of the whitebait, the head
is one-fifth the length of the body; the body of the white-
bait is also flatter.

Crupripa.—There are three other fishes which be-
long to the 14th family Clupeide, and somewhat resemble
the herring, but may be more easily known from it than
the preceding ; these are :—

The Anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus).— This fish, be-
sides being smaller than the full-grown herring, has its
lower jaw shorter than the upper, while in the herring
the lower jaw is longer than the upper jaw.

The Twaite Shad (Alosa finta), called in Scotland the
Rock Herring.—This fish grows to a much larger size than
the herring, and may be distinguished, in small specimens
of the size of the herring, by the deep notch in the upper
jaw, and by a row of four or six dark spots along each
side, in a line with the upper part of the gill cover.

The Alice Shad (Alosa communis).—This shad grows
to a much larger size than the other, but has also the
deep notch in the upper jaw, and one large dark spot on
the upper part of the operculum, or gill-cover; it is
named by the fishermen the Queen Herring, from its re-

42 DESCRIPTION OF THE HERRING,

semblance to the herring, although it has sometimes been
found to weigh eight pounds.

By noticing these characteristics the herring may be »
easily known from those fishes now mentioned; and
we shall now proceed to describe the prominent and
more interesting distinctions of the herring, without
at the same time taking up too much space in minute
details.

Description oF THE Herrinc.—The herring is a soft-
finned fish, of the bony or spinous class, having a mem-
brane of eight rays covering the gills; a scaly carinated
line along the belly, from the head to the tail, and the
under jaw longer than the upper.

Head.—The head is about the fifth part of the entire
length of the body—which is without scales—is almost
flat on the top, and slightly bent towards the nose, the
under jaw projecting beyond the upper jaw.

Eyes.—The eyes are placed on the sides of the head,
about the middle of its length, the iris being of a silvery-
white colour, and the pupil black ; they are slightly oval,
and are furnished with double eyelids.

Tongue.-—The tongue, although short, is distinctly
formed, and of a whitish colour; some of the teeth, as
mentioned hereafter, are placed on the lingual or tongue-
plate.

Fars.—Ilt has no external organs of hearing, but a
fringed orifice appears below the eye, on the inner side of
that part of the head which covers the gills, which is pro-
bably that organ. The fishermen affirm that they hear ;
and state that when a noise is made in the boat, the pecu-
liar sound they make when swimming on the surface
ceases. And we are told that in former times the church-
bell of St Monance in Fife, which hung upon a tree

IN TLLUSTRATION OF ITS NATURAL HISTORY. 43

in the churchyard near the shore, was not used, but
removed every year, during the herring season, because
they believed that the fish would be scared away from
the coast by its noise. (Chambers’ Picture of Scotland,
p. 210.)

Nose.—The nose of the herring has a considerable
cavity behind the two nostrils, which are separated from
each other by a very small and almost imperceptible film,
but the whole exhibits the most perfect, although minute,
adjustment of details.

Teeth—There are, almost unseen, a few teeth in the
upper jaw, four rows in the tongue, a few in the upper
portion of the mouth and at the throat, and on the lower
jaw four or five small teeth on each side.

Gills—The herring has four gills or branchiz on each
side, each being supported by an arched cartilage. There
are besides two small imperfect gills not having any arch ;
these join the gill-lid, apparently to regulate its motions.
The convex side of the gills is supplied with fringed fleshy
fibres of a red colour when the fish is in a healthy state ;
the concave side, or that nearest the mouth, is furnished
with long serrated spines.

Fins.—The fins are seven in number, namely, one
dorsal of eighteen rays, two ventrals of nine rays each,
one anal of seventeen rays, two pectorals of eighteen rays
each, and the tail or caudal-fin of eighteen rays. But
the number of rays varies ; we have sometimes counted,
dorsal seventeen, anal fourteen to seventeen, pectoral
fifteen to eighteen, and caudal eighteen to twenty ;
the ventral fin we have always found to contain nine
rays.

Scales—Whoen fresh from the sea, the scales have at
first a clear lustrous golden or orange colour of consider-

44 DESCRIPTION OF THE HERRING,

able beauty; they afterwards appear of a silvery tinge.
They lie over each other in regular lines, with the con-
vex edges pointing from the head towards the tail, so
that they form small segments or concave edges to-
wards the head, forming fifteen rows of scales between
the dorsal and the ventral fin. Professor Valenciennes,
in his edition of Baron Cuvier’s ‘‘ Natural History of
Fishes,” vol. xx. p. 27, says, ‘‘ The scales detach so easily
that it is very rare to find a herring which has not lost
them almost entirely.” Now, it will be found that the
scales of the herring are more attached, or are less
deciduous, than those of any other fish of this genus,
as indeed may be seen in the properly cured, salted, or
smoked herrings.

Bones.—The spine or back-bone consists of fifty-six
vertebre ; the cavity of the belly, terminating at the anal
fin, has on each side thirty-five or thirty-six bones or ribs,
and the sides near the tail are furnished with several
minute bones, terminating in soft elastic branches at
that fin.

Colowr.—The herring, when taken out of the water,
is one of the most beautiful of the scaly tribe, ex-
hibiting on the sides and back brilliant golden and blue
tints, and having to a considerable extent the bright
pavonine lustre. After it has remained a short time out
of its element, it becomes of a dark-bluish and green
colour on the back, and of a silvery colour on the sides
and belly; the termination of the body at the tail is re-
markable in exhibiting a beautiful dark-green colour when
held before the light.

Heart.—The heart of the herring is situated at the
upper part of the stomach, in a cavity near the gills;
it is three-sided, and consists of a single auricle and a

IN ILLUSTRATION OF ITS NATURAL HISTORY, 45

single ventricle. From the ventricle proceeds an artery
extending to and connected by minute branches with the
gills,

(sophagus.—The cesophagus or gullet is remarkably
short in proportion to the size of the fish.

Stomach.—The stomach is thin and membranous, and
capable of great distension ; the gut is nearly of uniform
size throughout its length.

Gall-bladder.—The gall-bladder is small, the bag of a
dark-green, and the lquid of a light claret colour, having
a sweetish and somewhat pungent taste.

Air-bag.—The vesica natatoria, or air-bag, is round, of
a silvery-white colour, nearly the length of the stomach,
and pointed and narrow at both ends; it is connected
with the posterior part of the stomach (which pos-
terior part is shaped hke a funnel) by a duct which lies
in the female between the roes, and in the male between
the milts.

Size.—The full-grown herring visiting the British
coasts varies from eight to twelve inches in length;
those caught to the north of Shetland are in some in-
stances larger; and the winter herrings fished on the
coast of Norway in January and February are some-
times from thirteen to fifteen inches in length. The
following are the sizes of the herring from different
localities :—

46 DESCRIPTION OF THE HERRING,

West Coast East Coast
of Britain. Treland. of Britain.

Aug. 26,1856.) Sept. 1857. |July 27,1857.
9h 10 10}

Total length, 4 E : :

Greatest height, . 5 ; ; 2} 24 24

Greatest thickness, 3 : ; 14 1} 1}

Greatest circumference, ‘ 54 5k 52

From point of under jaw to edge of } lz 2 2
gill cover,

Projection of under jaw beyond it 4 4
upper jaw, . ;

Height of extended mouth, : : 1 1ys 1

From point of upper jaw to nearest

6 6

edge of eye-hole, : 8 uy 3
Largest diameter of eye-hole, . : 3 ae vs
From edge of eye to back edge of Z 1

gill cover, g
Height of dorsal fin, . : : + 1 15
Length of dorsal fin, : : 45 1 ie
From point of upper jaw to begin-

ning of dorsal fin, 3g 4 43
From tail end of dorsal fin to ‘root 2% 3 3

of tail, or caudal fin, . 5
From root of tail fin to extremity of

longest ray of same, . 13 1} 1g
Point of under j jaw to ‘pectoral fin, 1z 2 2
Pectoral to ventral fin, . : ; 1} 1% 2k
Ventral to anal fin, : ; j 14 eee 2
From anal fin to tail fin, ‘ ; 1 J 1
Smallest breadth of tail fin, . 5 g g a

As some authors state that the female herring is
larger than the male, we give the following tables to
prove that this is an error. They show the length of
the herrings, and the number of milt, roe, and spawned
herrings.

Sixteen Herrings taken from the Firth of Forth near Aberdour,
on dd February.

IN ILLUSTRATION TO ITS NATURAL HISTORY. 47

Eleven Herrings from off Newhaven, 22d Dec.

Number.

Length. Number. Milt. Roe.
2 1 if 0
114 1 1 0
104 3 1 2
104 2 0 2
10 4 0 4

9} 1 1 0
12 4 8

CHAPTER VI.
THE FOOD OF THE HERRING.

THE usual food of the herring consists of the small medusez,
the Oniscus marinus, sraall crustacea, small fishes and other
food of various kinds, as will be detailed in the following
remarks on this subject. On some parts of the Norway
coast they eat a small crustacea called the roé-aat (Asta-
cus), which, it is said, renders the fish not very suitable
for curing. Herrings very often leap at flies, and they
are frequently caught by hooks baited for the purpose of
catching other small fishes, and even by clear unbaited
hooks. <A herring-curer of Banff told us that one season,
early in the month of June, he caught several herrings
having young sand-eels (Ammodytes tobianus) in their
stomachs; and in one of them he found no less than forty-
two, from one to two inches in length. This was an early
period for herrings appearing in the Moray Firth, and the
milt and roe were of small size. A fisherman at Fraser-
burgh observed one year in August that the stomachs of
many of the herrings were full of young fishes, and found
seventy of them in one herring. On July 24th, we
examined the stomachs of several herrings caught off
Dunbar. Those which had the milt and roe small had
their stomachs filled with young sand-eels, about two
inches in length ; while, on the contrary, those in which

FOOD OF THE HERRING. 49

the milt and roe were full grown had none. Again,
on the 9th of July of another year, we examined several
herrings fished some miles from the shore off Dunbar;
the herrings had the milt and roe small, and many had
their stomachs full of young sand-eels of two or three
inches in length. In another year, ou the 2d September,
we again examined several herrings from off Dunbar, the
milt and roe being large in some, while others were
spawned, and in the stomachs of these were portions of
the spawned milt and roe. About the end of May, on
another occasion, an enterprising fish-curer there, wishing
to get herrings early to the Hamburg market, sent boats
with rods and fly hooks to a distance of about a mile anda
half from the shore, where, in the course of an hour, the
crew of each boat got from 300 to 500 herrings; there
were twenty-seven hooks on each line, and there were
generally seventeen or eighteen herrings on the hooks
each dip. One year, in the end of May, two or three
young lads at Banff caught each upwards of six dozen
of herrings in a few hours with fishing-rods and fly-hooks ;
the herrings were of good size, and of the usual kind. On
the 21st July, some years since, some Fifeshire boats tried
the fishing about one mile to the westward of the Island
of May, with plain clear white-tinned hooks. They soon got
about 500 herrings into each boat. At the same time
one boat tried with six nets, and fished 3000 herrings.
From May to July, some years since, there was a very
considerable take of herrings in the Moray Firth by
means of the fly, and also with clear unbaited hooks.
One year, on the 9th May, the herring-fishing commenced
in this way at Eyemouth and the adjoining coast, and
was very successful. Several boats went off immediately

after sunset with lines and hooks unbaited, and in the
D

50 FOOD OF THE HERRING.

morning returned generally with from 2000 to 3000 her-
rings.

It will here be useful or interesting to give the opinions
of some of thé most eminent naturalists on this hitherto
doubtful subject.

Lacepede says, The food to which its quality is owing,
consists commonly of the eggs of fishes, small crabs, and
worms, ‘‘ La nourriture a laquelle il doit ses qualités con-
siste communément en ceufs de poissons, en petits crabes
et en vers.” (Lacepede, vol. v.)

Scoresby says, ‘These (the herrings) subsist on the
smaller cancri, meduse, and animalcules.” (Account of
the Arctic Regions, vol. i. p. 546.)

Mr M‘Kenzie, in his Essay on the Herring, published in
the second volume of the Highland and Agricultural So-
ciety’s Transactions, 1808, in mentioning that herrings
are sometimes taken by unbaited hooks, says (p. 314), “It
seems certain, therefore, that the herrings take these hooks
for such animalcules as they at least sometimes feed on.”

Rondeletius says, ‘“‘ The herrings feed largely on the
sea-caterpillar.” |

And another author says, ‘‘ Their food is insects” (Sha-
ron Turner’s Sacred History, pp. 317-18), meaning, of
course, small crustacea.

Neucrantz, an author who wrote an able work, “ De
Harengu,” and who died in 1671, states, “that he had
frequently ascertained the nature of the food from per-
sonal observation, and had counted in one herring up-
wards of sixty minute squille or shrimps, and that when
the spawning was complete, there was less food found
in the stomach of the spawned herring.” (Neucrantz de
Harengu, p. 28.)

Leuwenhock, who minutely examined the stomach of

FOOD OF THE HERRING. jt

the herring, came to the conclusion that they fed, “ not
only on animalcula, minute fishes or aselli, minute crus-
tacea, squille, and even on their own ova, but also, when
pressed for hunger, anything they meet with.” ‘ Abqui
ita mihi conspicua fuit haleces non tantum vesci exiguis
pisciculis atque etiam propriis ovis, sed et quocunque ob-
vium urgente necessitate versus stomachum demittere.”
(Leuwenhock, I. Hpist. 97, pp. 52, 58, dated January
1696.)

Otho Frederick Muller, in his work published at Copen-
hagen and Leipsic in 1785, on Crustacea, describes the
Cyclops longicornis as having been found by Guerner “in
sinu Drobactiorum,” in the stomach of the herring.

The roé-aat described as a red worm by some authors,
is stated in Sonnini’s “ Buffon,” to be one of the crustacea,
the Astacus harengum, already mentioned, which gives a
reddish colour to the stomach of the herring. (Sonnini’s
Buffon, vol. |xvii. p. 15.)

Fabricus, who wrote a work, ‘‘ De Specie Insectarum,”
in 1781, says of the same Astacus harengum, “ Habitat in
oceano Norwegico copiosissime, harengum et gadaram
esca” (vol.i. p. 511), namely, that it is most abundant in
the Norwegian seas, and is eaten by the herring and cod;
and he also describes another of the minute shrimps,
Gammarus, as existing in the Norwegian Sea, and that
it is ‘‘ harengum cibus gratissimus,”’ most agreeable food
to the herring (vol. i. p. 518).

In an elaborate work prepared by a gentleman already
referred to, W. von Wright, chief of the Civil Department
at Stockholm, and published by order of the King of
Sweden in 1843, “On the Herring and the Causes of its
Scarcity on the Swedish Coasts,” we find that he says,

“Tn all the herrings I opened, amounting to a very con-
D2

52 FOOD OF THE HERRING.

siderable number, I found more or less distinct remains
of entomostraca and other crustacea. Sometimes the
stomach was found completely filled with them, and some-
times I found along with these the remains of young fishes.
I must also observe that I generally found the greatest
quantity of food in the young herrings ; and the least in
those having large milts and roes. From this circum-
stance, along with the fact that the herring is very lean
after spawning, I have concluded that the full herrings
do not come to the coasts on our shores for the purpose
of seeking food, but for the purpose of spawning. (Hand-
linger rérande Sillfisket, p. 132.)

Professor Valenciennes, in his edition of Cuvier’s ‘‘ Na-
tural History of Fishes,” states, that he has found in the
stomach of the herring the fry or young of fishes of the
size of a pin, and considered that some of them were the
young of its own species; and from his own experience,
and the information he has obtained, he is satisfied that,
like other similar fishes, it eats the various animals of a
suitable description that come in its way (a sa portee).
(Vol. xx. p. 70.)

Cloquet, in the “‘ Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles,”
says of the herring, ‘“‘ Il se nourrit des ceufs de poissons,
de petits crabes et des vers ;” namely, they live on the eggs
of fishes, small crabs, and worms (vol. 1. p. 428).

Bosc, in the Nouveau Dictionnaire d’Histoire Naturelle,
says of herrings: “Ils vivent de petits poissons, de petits
crustaces, de vers marines, et de mollusques,’—they live
on small fish, small crustacea, sea-worms, and testacea.

Dr Neill, in his “ List of Fishes,” published in the
‘‘Wernerian Transactions” in 1811, says, that he found
“in the stomach and esophagus of a large female her-
ring no fewer than five young herrings—not sprats.”

FOOD .OF THE HERRING. oe

There having been much controversy on the subject of
the food of the herring, we have thought it right, not
merely to make the most careful examination, but also
to obtain the best authorities. And we may here state
that the celebrated Agassiz, in a conversation we had
with him at the first meeting of the British Association
at Edinburgh, said, that from the form of its mouth and
teeth he considered that its food must be of a more varied
sort than generally supposed.

It is therefore evident that the herring does not con-
fine itself to one particular kind of food, as has been
maintained, but that it feeds upon crustacea—the young
of other fishes, its own young, ove, worms, and flies.

CHAPTER VII.
PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING.

In attempting to give a statement of the periodical visits
of the herring to the Scottish and other coasts, and to
describe, as far as may be possible, its size and quality,
we shall commence with Shetland, and proceed westward
round to the Solway Firth, and then return to Cape
Wrath, and take the east coast to Berwick, which will
of course include the whole coast of Scotland, and then
describe its visits to the coasts of those countries where
their visits have been ascertained. To avoid repetition,
we shall classify the size of the herrings by the number
to a barrel; for instance, 600 is the sixth class, 800 the
eighth class, and so on.

SCOTLAND.

SHETLAND.—The winds and weather seem to have
more influence on the herring-fishery on the Shetland
coasts than on that of any other quarter, which may be
accounted for by their exposed situation; and until a
comparatively recent period the fishing of herrings by the
native boats was merely subsidiary or secondary to the
cod and ling fishing.

There is generally a large description of herring caught
at the extreme north of the Shetland Islands near Unst,
Fetlar, and Yell. They may be fished in the beginning of

PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING. a9)

June, but the boats are often later in proceeding to the
fishery. When the herrings are deficient on the north or
east side, they are often abundant on the west or south
side; and when few herrings can be fished at Yell, Unst,
or Fetlar, considerable quantities are fished off Levenwick,
Sandsair, Aithsvoe, Lerwick, and Bressay on the east
side. This may be accounted for by the prevalence of the
easterly or westerly winds. The greatest quantities are
caught in July, August, and September. The herrings
taken on the east side are generally two-thirds “ full
fish” and one-third ‘“ spent fish,” while fully more than
one-half of those caught in September are spent fish.

The herrings caught on the north-west of Hillswick,
Papa, and Vaila, are similar to those of the east side,
although not quite so large.

The herrings on the west side, particularly in the bay
or firth between Fitful Head and Skeldness, are quite
different from the herrings fished on the east side, being
similar in size to the Lochfine herrings. About one-fifth
of those fished are full herrings ; rather more than a fifth
are matjes, and these may be considered equal in quality,
as well as size, to the Lochfine herrings; and rather
less than three-fifths are spent-herrings, or rather have
not their ovaries developed, but do not appear to have
recently deposited their spawn. In size, those of the north
and east of Shetland belong to the fifth and sixth class,
and those of the west to the seventh or eighth class.

OrKnreys— West side.—Shoals of small herrings, of about
the ninth or tenth class, appear from the middle of May
to the middle of July, about ten miles from the land,
between Costa Head, north, and the entrance of the Pent-
land Firth, south. These herrings resemble those fished
off Thurso; the ovaries are hardly developed, and their

56 PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING.
stomachs are frequently found to be filled with young
sand-eel, or other small fish.

North-East Coast.—A superior description of herring,
both as to size and quality, appears off the north-east
coast about the 25th July, between Sanda and Stronsay,
and the fishing continues upon the east side (with occa-
sional intermissions) until about the middle of September;
these herrings are about the sixth and seventh class; and
at first in the shoals there is about an equal proportion
of matjes and full and spent-herrings ; but by the end of
the fishing nearly all those fished are spent herrings.

The West Sea, or South Isles, is not, as the name might
imply, on the west side, but the fishing is in the sea or
bays between South Ronaldshay and Longhope. There is
here often an abundant fishing, but the herrings are gene-
rally spent fish, or have deposited their spawn; the quan-
tity is often very large.

Carruness— Thurso.—Small herrings of a particularly
fat or oily description appear off Thurso, sometimes as
early as May. ‘Those fished early may be about the ninth
class; they are rich in flavour, but are not well adapted
for curing, or suitable to be preserved for longer than a
few weeks. This kind is usually succeeded by a larger
description of excellent herrings, which, not being so oily,
are more suitable for curing. The quantity that comes
upon this coast in June and July is often considerable.

Norra anp West Coast.—Along the coasts of Suther-
land, Inverness, and Argyle shires, including the various
islands of these counties, herrings usually appear in great
shoals in summer, and frequently in winter; they are
caught in some places in the North-West Highlandsasearly
as the beginning of June, and even in May, but the usual
time of their coming in shoals upon the coast and into the

PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING. JT

lochs is the months of July, August, and September. The
winter herrings generally appear in November, and con-
tinue on the coast till the middle of January, and in some
localities later. Although no particular loch can be pointed
out where their appearance every year is certain, yet Loch
Hribol in Sutherlandshire ; Loch Inver, Loch Kennard,
Great Loch Broom, Little Loch Broom, Loch Ewe, and
Loch Torridon in Ross-shire ; and Loch Urn, Loch Moidart,
and Loch Kintra in Inverness-shire; and Loch Linnhé, and
Loch Craignish in Argyleshire, are frequently well sup-
pled. The time of their resort to any particular loch in
any particular month or year cannot be predicted by any
one. A writer well versed in the subject says, ‘‘ The
continuance of a shoal] in any loch contiguous to the
Minch for eight days together is uncertain. It often
happens, that after a very successful fishing for three or
four nights in the lochs along that line of coast, the her-
rings retire so suddenly to the Minch that not a vestige
of them is to be found in a loch or bay for many weeks.” —
(‘‘Mackenzie’s Essay,” High. and Agric. Soc. Trans., vol. ii.
p. O19). Another writer states, “ That the Great Minch
(the sea which separates the Long Island from the main-
land), from the middle of June till the end of September,
is often crowded with herrings of the best quality.” *
Nortu-West Hieuitaxps-——Lewis Islands—The her-
* As a remarkable circumstance connected with the herring, it is worth
recording, that in March 1817 young herrings of about three inches in
length fell in a shower near the ferry of Shien, Argyleshire ; another
shower, but of full-sized good herrings, fell near Melford House, in the same
county, in 1821; and on the 9th February 1830, a number of small her-
rings, some of them alive, fell on the island of Alva, Argyleshire. In the
last instance, the day was calm, with a steady even-down pour of rain, and
the distance from the nearest part of the seashore fully half a mile. The

conclusion is, that they must have been projected by waterspouts.—Cale-
donian Mercury, April 1, 1830.

08 PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING.

rings of the North-West Highlands are generally of me-
dium size, and excellent quality, although there have been
different sizes observed at different periods, and in dif-
ferent lochs. It has been often observed that the her-
rings in the Minch, and on the east side of the Long
Island, are smaller than, but much superior in quality to,
those coming upon the coast and into the lochs of the west
side from the Atlantic. At Stornoway the fishing now
begins generally on the 20th of May, and the Act pre-
vents fishing before this on the west coast; and the
localities where the herrings are found are extremely
variable, and embrace the Minch, the Broad Bay, the Back
of the Lewis, and circumjacent coasts. These herrings
caught in May are fat and oily, like the first-caught Thurso
herrings, and the scales more deciduous than those of any
other of the herrings caught on the coasts of Scotland,
and belong to the seventh and eighth classes. As the
season advances, this description of herring is succeeded
by a superior kind, both as to quality and size, the size
being between the sixth and seventh class; but some of
the inferior kind are found among the new shoals.

Loch Roag is a very considerable lake, or arm of the
sea, in Lewis Island, about twelve miles in length; it
is so open that the waves from the Atlantic, in western
gales, flow into it with great impetuosity ; but there are
a number of small islands which afford shelter, and
behind which there is safe anchorage. Before the middle
of the eighteenth century, this Loch was well known for
its herrings, they being considered of good quality. About
1750 the herrings left it, and seem not to have returned
until about 1790, when, for a series of years thereafter,
there was a very regular fishing during the months of
November, December, and January. In 1797, the her-

PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING. 09

rings discontinued their visits; but after the lapse of
thirty-two years, they returned in the autumn of 1829
in considerable quantities ; and in late years the fishing
has been frequently abundant. (Stat. Account of Scot-
land, vol. xix. p. 252; Edin. Phil. Journal, No. xv., 1830).

We may here state that in 1710 Lewis Island was the
general resort of boats from the most distant parts of Scot-
land; and in that year we find that the small town of
Easter Anstruther sent as many as thirty boats to the fish-
ing at Lewis. (Sir Robert Sibbald’s Hist. of Fie, p. 338.)

Loch Urn.—A remarkable peculiarity has frequently
been observed in the size of the herrings of this loch, they
being much smaller than those caught in Loch Duich and
on the neighbouring coasts, although Loch Urn is only a
few miles westward; being sometimes as small as class
twelve, while the general size of the North-West High-
land herrings may range from the sixth to the eighth
class. Loch Urn appears to have been often visited by
large shoals. One year such great quantities appeared as
to fill the whole loch from the narrows to the bay-head ;
and such a quantity ran on shore that the beach, for four
miles round the head, was covered from six to eighteen
inches in depth, and even the ground under water, as far
as it could be seen at low-water. At a subsequent period
another shoal came into Loch Urn, and a similar quantity
was left on the beach by the receding tide; but the great
body soon after left the loch, although as many were left
behind as to afford good fishing for several weeks.

Loch Broom.—The quantity of herrings caught in the
North-West Highlands varies much, not only on account
of the uncertainty of their visits, but also from the de-
sultory and irregular manner in which the fishery is
generally prosecuted. The fishing in Loch Broom, for

60 PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING.

several years back and until lately, has been very incon-
siderable, although formerly in this loch, which is not
much more than seven miles in length and half a mile in
breadth, several hundred vessels have, in a course of suc-
cessive years, got full cargoes of excellent herrings. In
the latter part of the year 1857 and the beginning of
1858, there were large shoals of herrings in this loch,
sufficient to supply cargoes of full-sized herrings to a
great number of sloops from various parts of Scotland.
Three hundred boats were occupied in the fishing from
about the middle of October until the middle of January ;
and on the 11th of February upwards of twenty crans or
barrels were taken in the yair at the upper part of the
loch, although the gateway of the yair was open, and
allowed egress to the fish.

Loch Torridon.—Here they have often been very abun-
dant. One year the boats of twenty-five vessels, each
vessel having two or three boats, besides a great many
country boats, were often twice loaded in a night. When
they do appear, the herrings generally continue two
months, and give employment to 5000 or 6000 persons.

Loch Carron is about a league in length, in some
places above a mile in breadth, and from four to sixty
fathoms in depth. The herrings here one year were so
plentiful that the boats were for five weeks fully laden
every night; and “it was indifferent to the fishers in
what part of it to shoot their nets, or what length to give
their buoy-strings.”

Caroy Loch, in the Isle of Skye.—They were one year
here so abundant, that, shooting night or day, the nets
were always filled; and similar shoals of herrings con-
tinued to visit the coast many years in succession,

Loch Slapan is also in the Isle of Skye ; and here one

PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING. 61

year there were 400 vessels, which fished about 96,000
barrels in one season.

Harris.—In December 1837, an immense shoal of her-
rings, of a large size, set into the lochs on the western
coast of Harris. One shoal entered a creek in the Sound
of Harris, the mouth of which dries at half-tide, while
the depth within the bar is seven fathoms ; and about 200
crans were caught in this pool alone. (Hdinburgh Weekly
Chronicle, 16th December 1837.)

Firta or Crype—Arran.—Off the west end of this
island, and in the adjacent Sound, there is generally a
good fishing from July to the end of November.

Loch Fyne—Loch Long.—Herrings are annually caught,
but not in considerable quantities, in Loch Fyne and Loch
Long, beginning in the month of June; and they some-
times appear in abundance in the river Clyde. Expe-
rienced fishermen say that herrings may be caught in
Loch Fyne all the year tlirough. In corroboration, to a
certain extent, of this remark, it may be stated, that in
the beginning of January 1832 the herring fishery was
very successful in Loch Fyne, the boats having been gene-
rally well filled, and the herrings of good quality. In
December 1835 Loch Fyne was visited by a most extra-
ordinary shoal of herrings. They made their appearance
in some of the bays in such prodigious quantities that the
usual method of fishing was departed from, and nets of
every description were stretched across the bays, and en-
closed all the fish until the receding of the tide, when they
were left high and dry upon the beach; and two boats
engaged in this fishing caught each from 20 to 25 maizes
(500 to the maize) each night. (Hdinburgh Observer, 1st
December 1837.) .

The herrings of Loch Fyne and neighbourhood have

62 PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING.

been justly celebrated for their superior quality: they
have a whiter colour, a plumper shape than, and a much
superior flavour to those caught on the Berwickshire
coast; and, with all these good qualities, they keep well
when properly cured. The general size of this kind of
herring may be reckoned as ranging from the sixth to
the eighth class, the later the season the nearer the larger
size; but there are sometimes herrings of a very large
size—even of twelve and thirteen inches in length—
eaught there. The quantity of herrings fished in Loch
Fyne and adjacent places of late years has been rather
on the decrease ; but it is not easy to ascertain this
accurately, from the great number that is sold fresh,
of which no account is kept. A portion of the herrings
fished there have been, for many years back, exported
to the West Indies,—a circumstance of which Lacepede
did not seem to be aware, as he says in his work that
the exportation of herrings to warmer climates had never
been attempted.

Ayrshire Coast.—They are frequently found near the
Ayrshire coast in June and July, and they have even
been caught in considerable quantities off Irvine and
Troon so early as the month of May.

Sotway Firrx.—Herrings of small size, but good qua-
lity, generally appear here in considerable quantities, and
are taken principally upou the Scottish side in the Solway
Firth. The usual fishing time is about the month of Sep-
tember.

Iste or Man.—The herrings caught on the west coast of
the Isle of Man are generally of medium size and good
quality. They come sometimes upon the coast as early
as June, but the principal fishing time is about the be-
ginning of September. The herrings fished on the west

PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING. 63

side of Man are much superior to those taken at the
eastern or Douglas fishery ; the first resembles the Loch
Fyne herrings, but of the latter a considerable part con-
sists of spawned fish.

East Coast—Cape Wrath.—Returning to the east
coast of Scotland, as before proposed, we find herrings
appear there very regularly, and generally in considerable
quantities. They are caught from June till August and
September in the sea embracing the Moray Firth from
Cape Wrath to Inverness, including the east coasts of
Sutherlandshire, Caithness-shire, and Ross-shire.

Wick.—Although at the beginning of the season an
inferior size of herring similar to those caught at Thurso
is obtained off this coast, yet the herrings generally caught
are of good size and excellent quality—being about the
seventh to the eighth class. This extensive fishery begins
about the middle of July and ends in September.

Helmsdale, &c.—Farther along the Caithness coast, and
in the neighbourhood of Helmsdale, the herrings average
about the sixth or seventh class; at Lossiemouth they
are generally similar to those caught at Wick; but at
the upper end of the Moray Firth they have frequently
been found of a very small size, not exceeding the tenth
or twelfth class.

Banff, &c.—F rom Inverness, along the south side of the
Moray Firth, including Morayshire, Banffshire, and part
of Aberdeenshire, herrings are caught about the same
time as on the north side; the quality is also similar to
those caught at Wick, and they are also of a good medium
size. They appear upon the coast in June, but are at first
so small that the nets cannot catch them, but they begin
to be of a sufficient size in July, and in August they are
full-sized, and come nearer the shore.

64 PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING.

Cromarty.—F rom 1690 to 1709 a very extensive fishery
was carried on at Cromarty, whither the herrings annu-
ally resorted in considerable abundance. Shortly after
the Union (1707), an immense shoal was thrown, or
rather ran themselves, on shore, in a little bay to the east
of the town. The beach was covered with them to the
depth of several feet, and salt and casks failed the packers.
The residue was carried away for manure by farmers
in the neighbourhood. Strange to say, however, they left
the Firth in a single night, and no shoals again made
their appearance for more than half a century. In 1780
a body of herrings was seen swimming up the Firth with
all the accompaniments of a large shoal—whales, por-
poises, and gulls; they passed through the roadstead
and the strait opposite Invergordon, beating the water for
several miles into a foam, and giving it the appearance it
presents when ruffled by those sudden land-squalls which
blacken the surface. The shoal took up its spawning-
ground opposite Ardilly, a villa within three miles of
Dingwall, and was fished in immense quantities within
400 yards of the shore. The following year a similar
body returned and rested for some time in the bays of
Fortrose and Campbeltown, and then ‘turned down the
Firth after affording an abundant fishing. Shoals of her-
rings have since occasionally returned to the upper part
of the Firth. One season, in the beginning of autumn,
the Bay of Cromarty appeared as if its countless waves
were embodied into fish and birds. No fewer than seven
whales, some of them apparently sixty feet in length,
were seen within the short space of half a mile. When
they spouted, the jets seemed, in the rays of the noonday
sun, as if speckled with silver, occasioned by the small
fishes which they drew in with the water and thus ejected.

PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING. 65

I am indebted for the above information to a very talented
and graphic description of the Moray Frith herring-
fishery, written by the author of ‘“ Poems, by a Journey-
man Mason”—the celebrated Hugh Miller. From 1816
to 1820 their visits were more regular, and the fishery
successful. After this period there was a falling off; but
in 1841 the fishery was an abundant one, and in 1855
nearly 400 boats were well filled every night from the
[st to the 5th September.

Fraserburgh.—Along the coast from Banff to Fraser-
burgh, herrings are generally caught of similar quality,
and about the same time. The shoals off Fraserburgh
are often very large. In the latter part of the month of
August 1816 the herrings came in close to the shore, and
for some days the fishing-boats were loaded with herrings
of the finest quality; and from Kinnaird-Head the shoals
were seen to be pursued by a numerous body of whales,
amounting to about 100, accompanied by great numbers
of sea-fowl.

Off Buchanness they generally appear in great abun-
dance every year. The Dutch fishermen, who often get
here their greatest supply, begin fishing here about the
Ist of July.

A berdeen.—A successful herring-fishery was commenced
in 1836 off the coast at Aberdeen, and herrings are caught
of superior quality, as early as the middle of July; since
then generally every year. They appear on various parts
of the coasts from thence to the Tay about the same time ;
but those got near the shore are larger and of a coarser
quality than the herrings of the Moray Frith and neigh-
bourhood, for they are generally as large as the sixth
class.

Tay.—Formerly in the Tay, for several years succes-
E

66 PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING.

sively, herrings appeared in abundance, a good winter
fishing having existed opposite Balmerino and Wood-
haven; but of late years the quantity caught there has
been very inconsiderable. They are similar in quality to
the Forth herrings. (Sibbald’s History of Fife ; Note by
Kd. of new edition, p. 414).

Off the Tay and Forth, a few miles distant from the
coast, the Dutch fishermen sometimes get considerable
quantities of excellent herrings in July and August ; these
are of medium size, or about the seventh class. This fishing
must have been very considerable, and known and followed
by the Scotch in 1710. Sir Robert Sibbald says, ‘ Crail
has eighty fishing-boats, which, for the most part, are em-
ployed in herring-fishing, which come upon the coasts
yearly about Lammas, at which season there come from
the coasts of Angus, Mearns, and Aberdeenshire, about
200 boats more, which the inhabitants of this town fur-
nish with nets and other materials for the herring-fishery.”
(History of Fife, p. 346.)

Frith of Forth—While the entrance or lower part of
the Frith of Forth is visited by shoals of herrings every
winter, higher up it is also visited by other shoals of
herrings, but (if we should judge from the quantity
taken) in much greater abundance in some years than
others.

Previous to 1793, the mouth of this Frith, between the
Island of May and the Fifeshire coast, was resorted to
by a great many fishermen, who caught considerable
quantities of lean and shotten fish in February and March,
which herrings are now supposed to have been those re-
turning from the higher part of the Frith after spawning.
It is remarkable that the visits of the herring higher up
the Forth were not known till 1793, the winter fishing

PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING. 67

having first commenced in that year. The discovery was
previously made by a poor man, residing at Donibristle,
of the name of Thomas Brown, while fishing small had-
docks; he concealed the discovery as long as possible,
while he supplied his own wants by the simple means of
dipping pails or buckets into the sea at such places and sea-
sons as he found most suitable ; it is also said, that, twenty
years before that year, a seaman having let his sail fall
overboard in Inverkeithing Bay, brought several herrings
into the boat within its folds, and although he told several
fishermen residing near the spot, none of them could be
tempted to make a trial. (Sir Robert Sibbald’s History
of Fife, p. 306.) Some fishermen at Queensferry were at
last, in 1793, induced to commence, and their great suc-
cess encouraged others. Since then the fishing has been
annually resorted to by boats and vessels from various
quarters ; several hundred boats have in some years come
from the west coast of Scotland, and even from Ireland,
Wales, and the Isle of Man, to this fishery. For several
years lately, however, the fishing has not been very
abundant, and it latterly has been confined to the fisher-
men of the Forth and immediate neighbourhood. These
herrings are every year of a uniform size and shape, from
the eighth to the ninth class; they are of a good quality
for curing, being not fat, and are excellently adapted for
the West India market, and for red herrings. The fish-
ing commences sometimes in the month of November,
but often not till January, and generally lasts till Febru-
ary or March, the time that they are generally observed
to spawn. It is seen every year that the herrings always
spawn before they return to the sea.

Eyemouth, Dunbar, and from the mouth of the Forth to

Berwick.—Considerable shoals of herrings appear here
E2

68 PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING.

every year; and although they do not set in close to the coast
till about the month of August, yet the fleet of Dutch
herring busses, when it meets with a contrary wind, which
prevents their proceeding farther north, gets a consider-
able fishing about twenty miles off that coast in the end
of June and beginning of July. But the herrings caught
by our own fishermen close in-shore in August and
September are often ripe for spawning. They appear
on this coast suddenly in great shoals, and the great
quantity caught in the meshes frequently sinks the nets,
which are sometimes left a night or even two nights in the
water, according as the weather may suit for getting them
into the boats. Such herrings, if salted and barrelled, must
tend greatly to injure the character of the herrings caught
on this coast. Although great quantities are frequently
fished here, the fishing generally lasts only a few days.
They are of large size, or about the sixth class in ordi-
nary seasons.

2. ENGLAND.

Northumberland. — Herrings appear in August and
September from Berwick, southward, on the Northum
berland coast; they are similar to the herrings caught off
Dunbar, and the fishery is often considerable. North Sun-
derland is the principal station in this quarter.

Yorkshire.—At Staithes, Runswick, and Robin Hood’s
Bay, they are caught from the latter part of July to the
latter part of September, and of late years have been
fished in considerable quantities.

Norfolk.—The herring-fishery off Yarmouth is the most
important on the coast of England ; 500 decked vessels
may be seen at this fishing at one time, of which about

7 ¥ Wo Ss woULp a

nat

Cy oe Netehs Da aN ZNeae
: antyhe LY

guipy unisumoe WAM AG UT

PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING. 69

100 belong to Yarmouth, and 70 to Lowestoffe. The her-
rings are of a smaller size than those fished on the Nor-
thumberland coast; in several years lately considerable
quantities of good herrings have been fished off this coast
in June and July, but the principal fishery commences in
October, and continues for about two months. Great
numbers of foreigners fish at this locality, the most nume-
rous being Dutch and French. The herrings are found to
be smallest near the coast, and the boats, therefore, pro-
ceed half-sea over, as the largest herrings are preferred
for smoking; the whole, or nearly the whole, of the her-
rings brought to Yarmouth, not sold fresh, being smoked.
The boats proceed from north to south as the season
advances.

Kent.—The shoals of herrings off Folkestone are in
some years very considerable ; they commence fishing in
the beginning of October, and continue to the end of
November.

Sussex.—The fishery of this coast is principally carried
on by the Hastings boats; they begin fishing in Novem-
ber and continue until the end of December, and the sup-
ply obtained at the fishery is often very considerable.

Cornwall.—Herrings are caught on the coast of Corn-
wall in August and September, but not now in any great
quantity. The pilchard fishery seems to be the most
abundant at present; but, about twelve years since, her-
rings in considerable quantities were taken near St Ives,
and but few pilchards. The Penzance and Cornish
fishermen are celebrated for the superiority of their fish-
ing-boats and materials; they visit at the proper seasons
the herring-fisheries at the Isle of Man and on the coast
of Treland.

70 PERIODICAL VISITS Of THE HERRING.

3. IRELAND.

The coasts of Ireland are generally visited by large
shoals of herrings. Their most regular visits are on
the Atlantic side of the island; but it must be observed
that in some of the localities the fishery is not pro-
secuted with success, which may be considered as owing
to the want of means rather than to the absence of
herrings.

At Killybegs the herrings may be caught generally
in abundance from the end of December to the beginning
of March. They are small, and may be of the size of the
eighth class, and boats to the number of 700 to 800 often
attend this fishery, not only from the immediate neigh-
bourhood, but various parts of the island, and even some-
times from the Isle of Man and Cardigan.

West Coast—Kiileries, &c.—The coast and bays south
to Galway are sometimes in the winter visited by shoals
of herrings, which appear in abundance one season in one
loch or bay, and sometimes in another season in other
lochs or bays. They are fished in Greatman’s Bay, at
Costello, Roundstone, near Slynehead, at Ballinakill, and
Killeries ; and in some seasons the herrings may be caught
in twenty different bays at the same time. JBut their
visiting any particular bay is uncertain ; for instance, there
was no fishing at Roundstone from 1827 to 1833. On this
coast, besides the winter fishing, appearances strongly in-
dicate that a successful fishery may be carried on on the
extensive line of coast from Sheephaven Bay to Broad-
haven Bay from May to October.

Galway.—The herring-fishery at Galway is, like the
Killybegs fishery, more certain and regular than at some of

PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING. 71

the other localities, and affords employment and food to a
very great number of people, so many as 200 boats being
often employed at one time at this fishery. The Clad-
dagh fishermen, forming a great proportion of these, are a
peculiar race of men, inhabiting one quarter of the town
of Galway; they are a hardy and industrious race, and
have laws among themselves regarding the fishery. They
make it a rule not to begin fishing till the 4th of Septem.
ber, nor until all the Claddagh boats are ready to proceed
to the fishery; and it is their custom, when ready, to
apply to the clergymen of the West Convent Chapel in
Claddagh, one of whom proceeds with them to the fishery
the day they begin, and offers up a prayer for an abundant
fishing. It is said that they formerly, before beginning,
buried a cat on the beach, with the view of procuring a
successful fishing. The harvest fishing is pretty abund-
ant in the creeks and bays from Galway south to the
Clare coast. So many as 85,000,000 herrings have
been cured in one season in Galway, almost entirely in
bulk.

Kerry.—Off Seafield herrings visit the coasts from the
middle of January to March. They are larger than, and
inferior to, the Galway herrings. At the mouth of the
Shannon they may be caught from the beginning of July
to November.

Dingle Bay.—Here the herring shoals sometimes con-
tinue from July to December.

Valentia.—Near this place the take of herrings is
often very considerable, from the circumstance of the
fishermen using deep-sea seines (which will be described
elsewhere). One of these nets has been known to take as
many as 80,000 to 100,000 herrings at one haul.

Sours Coast— Kenmare.—Herrings are caught at Ken-

72 PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING.

mare, county Kerry, from July to October, but at Bantry
there has been no productive fishery since 1828. The
season lasts from August to Christmas.

Kast Coast—Arklow.—Onward to Arklow herrings
appear at different localities from August to December.
At Arklow the fishing was formerly considerable from
June to August, but now it begins about the Ist of
October. The Arklow herrings are similar in size to the
Loch Fyne herrings. On the Wicklow coast there are
sometimes considerable shoals from September to Christ-
mas, and until within these few years there was a
summer fishing in June and July.

Carlingford.—At the Lough of Carlingford the her-
rings were at one time fished abundantly, but the Irish
Channel herring-fishery is now considered the most ad-
vantageous; it lasts from June to November; and the
fishing is pursued less or more by the fishermen at New-
castle, Dundrum Bay, &c.

Ardglass is a very considerable herring station. About
100 Penzance boats (of from 15 to 20 tons), 100 boats
from the Isle of Man, and 100 Irish boats, used annually
to pursue this fishery.

Carrickfergus.—The visits of the herring shoals are
generally very regular at different parts of this coast,
from Ardglass to Carrickfergus, from June to November ;
and herrings in considerable shoals are said to enter Bel-
fast Lough to spawn in September and October.

Larne and Fairhead.—Herrings may be caught from
May to September of superior quality in different locali-
ties between Larne and Fairhead, but not in considerable
quantities.

Nort Gpaaieecloa gh Foyle, dc.—From Lough Foyle
to Lough Swilly there are two herring seasons, namely,

PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING. 73

in July and August, and again from the middle of
November to the beginning of February.

As is the case everywhere, the harvest herrings are
larger and finer than the winter herrings.

Lough Swilly—Farland Point.—From Lough Swilly
to Farland Point the herrings may be caught from July
to November, and from Christmas to March.

Rutland.—Near this herrings were so abundant about
thirty years ago, that 500 vessels were generally laden in
_a season from November to January ; these were of supe-
rior quality and of the sixth class, while the Killibegs
herrings at that time were of the eighth class; in 1836
herrings appeared here in great abundance.

_ Leiling.—It is said that in the months of April, May,
July, and August, from Teiling to Malinhead, there are
large shoals of herrings ; but they are not fished, because
it is supposed it would be difficult to cure them.

We have thus made a circuit of the whole Irish coast ;
and it must be evident that a most abundant and cer-
tain supply of herrings, and which might afford food
and employment to a numerous population, is to be found
on the coast of the county Down, and on the coasts
and in the creeks and bays between Galway and Torry
Island.

4. WHITE SEA.

Herrings are abundant in the White Sea, Kola being
one of the principal fishing stations. They are fished
twice a-year, namely, in the month of April,—the
herrings caught at this season being small and lean;
and secondly, from the beginning of August till the end
of September,—these. are much better herrings, being

74: PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING.

larger and fatter. It is said that herrings may be fished
in this season in almost any part of the White Sea.

5. ICELAND.

Herrings sometimes appear at Iceland, but seldom
in any considerable body; the quality is generally in-
ferior. The principal places of their resort are Westmance
and near Oxefield on the south-east coast, but their visits
are irregular. Horrebow, in his History of Iceland (chap. lv.
p. 75), says “‘ the herrings do not resort to the coast every
year.” <A shoal appeared at the first-named place in July
1835, and the usual time of their appearance at Iceland is
July and August. They are generally full of milt and roe,
and of medium size. Olaus Olavius, in his History of Ice-
land, says, “ But as herrings are not seen there but now
and then, and have not been caught but in the year 1773,
it is supposed that there cannot be any considerable
quantity.” Meu da silden ikke sees der, uden nogen en-
kelte gange, og er ikke bleven fanget uden i aaret 1773,
saa formode nogle at dens mengde ei maae vare be-
tydelig. (Olaus Olavius, vol. i. p. 104.)

6. FAROE.

Herrings are seldom seen at Faroe in any consider-
able shoals, although small quantities are now and then
fished by the inhabitants. They appear to be of the
eighth class.

7. NORWAY.

Drontheim.—They appear on the coast off Drontheim
and neighbourhood in shoals about the middle of June,

PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING. 15

and continue upon the coast till November. These are
generally of the eighth class and of good quality. <A
larger sized and coarser herring appears on the same
coast in December, and they continue till the end of
February. They are as large as the fifth and sixth class.

Bergen.—F arther south and near Bergen, the large de-
scription of herrings approach the shore in January, and
continue during February and March. These are also of
the larger size and of coarser quality than those caught
off Shetland ; and the smaller sized, or fat or summer her-
rings, of the eighth class, are often fished near the coast
in June and July.

Stadtland.—The Norwegians have also a considerable
fishing off Stadtland, where they generally get very large
herrings, few being under a foot, and many thirteen inches
in length. This kind is what is generally sent in great
quantities by the Norwegians to the Baltic for sale, and
is inferior to Scottish herrings.

Lofoden.—The summer herring-fishery off Lofoden and
the coast of Helgeland (Norway) was formerly very con-
siderable, but they have not come upon this coast for the
last twenty years. (Bloms Reisebeskrivelse i Nordlan-
dene, 166).

Flekkefiord.—A considerable fishery of the Norway
herrings existed for several years near Flekkefiord in
Norway. They were fished about four miles from the
shore, and from 200 to 300 vessels, averaging about 50
tons, got full cargoes, the fishing commencing generally
in January, and continuing about three weeks. This fish-
ery was considerable in the beginning of 18386, but has
totally failed since.

Christianstind.—Off Christianstnd and along the adja-
cent coasts a very superior description of herring is

76 PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING.

caught in summer, of about the eighth or ninth class,
of which considerable quantities are sometimes exported
to the Baltic.

8. SWEDEN.

Bohus, Gottenburgh, &c.—Very few herrings are now
caught on the Swedish coasts. The Swedes attribute
their departure, as already mentioned, to the firing of
British and other ships of war attending convoys, &c.
Some idea may be formed of the extent of the fishing
there from the quantity exported. In the six years from
1775 to 1781, they exported annually, on an average,
122,217 barrels, while the average annual quantity ex-
ported in three years from Scotland was then only 32,629
barrels. The fishing of herrings, to any extent, first
commenced near Gothenburg in 1752; but the fishing
almost entirely ceased in 1808, and since then the her-
rings are generally caught among the rocky islands, and
few or none out at sea; the quantity that now appears
there is inconsiderable. in.

Stromstadt.—The fishing extended along the coast from
Gothenburg to Stromstadt, a distance of about 105 miles.
They were caught in the first years in July and August,
but in the later years not till November. The Swedish
herrings were generally of good quality, and about the
size of the seventh class.

9. DENMARK.

Elsinore-—From Elsinore upwards to Falsterbo, her-
rings of small size are caught from September till Christ-
mas, but not in such quantities as in former times.

PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING. at

Liimfiord.—The best herring-fishery in Denmark was
at Lumfiord, on the east coast of Jutland. They were
fished twice a-year, the one fishery beginning in February,
if the ice was melted, and it continued in March and
April for the spring season ; and the other in November
and December in winter; the latter caught herrings were
always the fattest, smallest, and best. The quantity
caught in a year was very considerable, perhaps about
200,000 barrels in both seasons. They came up the
Lumfiord full of spawn, and spawned there each season.
The entrance of the river leading to Lumfiord does not
exceed 360 feet in breadth, and there is there a com-
paratively shallow sandbank, the water being generally
clear, and the bottom a fine sand. It was observed by
the fishermen there, that the stronger the winds blew up
that frith, the more herrings were caught. These her-
rings were of small size, from the ninth to the tenth
class, and generally of good quality ; but in consequence
of the sea breaking through to the lake or frith on the
west coast of Jutland, the herring-fishery has been de-
stroyed, as the herrings have almost entirely disappeared,
and the town of Aalborg, on the east side, at the original
entrance of Lumfiord, has suffered very much in conse-
quence of the loss of this important fishery. This loch
may be now termed an estuary, and, therefore, Denmark
has one more island added to the numerous list. It is
possible the herrings may return ; but if they do not, the
mere circumstance of the sea making an entrance on the
opposite coast—and that as yet to a very moderate ex-
tent—being the cause of driving the herrings from this
their usual haunt, is a curious occurrence in the natural
history of this fish.

Great Belt.—In the Great Belt herrings are caught

78 PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING.

from the middle of September till December, and they
are full of young, and generally of fair quality. There
is frequently also a summer fishing, which lasts till
June.

Kiel.—From the Belt upwards to Kiel herrings of
similar quality are caught, and about the same time.

10. BALTIC.

Wismar.—At Wismar herrings of ordinary quality,
and about the eighth class, are caught with the seine
in February and March, but not in any considerable
quantity.

Bornholm.—About 2000 barrels of medium size are
caught annually by the inhabitants of the Island of Born-
holm in July and August.

Pomerania.—Higher up the coast, embracing Pome-
rania, a smaller herring is caught from the beginning of
February until April; they may be about the twelfth
class. In May, soon after the departure of this kind, a
great abundance of small-sized herring (called stromling)
sets in upon the coast, and continues until the end of
June. They are so small as to require 2000 to a barrel.

Rugen.—F arther up that side of the Baltic, from Rugen
to Dantzic, herrings appear in small quantities from Sep-
tember till Christmas, and they are as large as the eighth
class; they also set in upon the same coast from February
till May.

Riga.—Near Riga some herrings are caught of similar
quality to the preceding.

Biornberg.—Near Biornberg, in the Gulf of Bothnia,
herrings of small size are caught in March, April, and
May, but not in considerable quantities, and they are

PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING. 79

generally used fresh. Herrings do not appear in any
great quantity higher up the coast.

11. HANSE TOWNS,

Hamburg.—Up to the year 1822 herrings were caught
in considerable quantities off the Elbe, near Cuxhaven,
from November to March. The quality was inferior.
They have now disappeared, or are never fished, and we
do not find any fishery of consequence till we come to
the kingdom of the Netherlands.

12. HOLLAND.

Zuyder Zee.—In the Zuyder Zee, off Harlingen and
Philipina, abundance of lean or shotten herrings often
appear in November or December.

Texel_—Above the Texel full herrings are caught fre-
quently at the same period, and a considerable fishery is
carried on every year between the Dutch and the English
coasts, as far south as the North and South Foreland, till
the 1st of January.

13. FRANCE.

Tur CHannet—Calais, dc.—The visits of the her-
rings on the French coast generally take place from
autumn to January; and although the fishery is often
inconsiderable, they are caught sometimes in large quan-
tities off Calais, Dieppe, Treport, and on the coasts as far
as the mouth of the Loire; but beyond this point no
shoals have been at any time found. The size is about
the seventh class.

80 PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING.

14. ASIA.

Black Sea.—Herrings of about the eighth class visit
the Asiatic coasts of the Black Sea, and are caught in
considerable quantities from the middle of October to the
end of March. They are of superior quality, and slightly
differ from the herrings of the north in the teeth and
form of the head.

Caspian Sea.—This sea is plentifully supplied with
very fine herrings, and an extensive fishery is carried on
at Bakoe, on that coast; and the quality is so highly
prized, that the herring is called by the Persians the
royal fish ; the fishery is generally most abundant in July.
(Hon. G. Keppel’s Persian Narrative, vol. ii. p. 204.)

Okotsk.—In July and August shoals of herrings an-
nually appear in the Gulf of Okotsk in Russian Tartary.

Kamtschatka.—On. the east coast of Kamtschatka they
arrive in April, and remain till June and July. (Tuckey’s
Maritime Geography, pp. 276, 286.)

Bay of Avatska.—They appear in great shoals in the
Bay of Avatska towards the latter end of April, and re-
main till the beginning of June. They seem to come in
shoals in both spring and autumn, there being a consider-
able difference in the size, the spring fish being largest.
(Billing’s Hapedition to the Northern Regions, pp. 75, 89,
298, 299.)

Kovema.—In lat, 69° 28’, long. 168° 28’, in the Icy
Sea, 300 herrings were caught by the seine on the 16th
July ; the water was fresh enough to dress victuals. They
ascend the Kovema in great shoals in September; they
are split and dried by the natives.

PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING. 81

15. BEHRING’S STRAITS.

Kotzebue Sound.—Herrings are caught in Kotzebue
Sound, above Behring’s Straits, by the American Esqui-
maux, in July, and in Graintley Harbour, long. 174°, lat.
65°, in September. (Beechey’s Voyages.)

16. BATHURST INLET.

Captain Franklin states that several herrings were
caught in the nets set by his people in Bathurst Inlet, on
the 5th August, in lat. 66° 30’ N., long. 107° 53’ W. A
pretty extended description of these herrings was compared
with the herrings brought to the London market in Jan-
uary, and found to agree exactly ; they appeared to be
miatjes, the roe or milt having been small. (Franklin’s
Journey to the Polar Seas, p. 377, and App. p. 717).

Sandy Bay.—At Sandy Bay they are caught in Oc-
tober; these herrings slightly differ in the teeth and
form from those of Europe.

17. AMERICA.— UNITED STATES.

Carolina.—In the month of January they come upon
the coasts of Carolina, and are said to proceed north-
ward.

Virginia.—They visit the coast of Virginia in February,
and all the bays and rivers as far north as the Bay of
Fundy ; and they continue spawning till the month of
May, and in some places may be caught till July.
(American Trans., vol. ii. p. 237).

82 PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING.

18. NOVA SCOTIA.

A small and very fat variety of herring approach
the shores of Nova Scotia from the Bay of Fundy in the
month of May, and about the end of May enter Anna-
polis Basin, and on the shore of Clements are caught in
considerable quantities. These are generally smoked and
packed in boxes containing about 200; so many as 100,000
boxes have been exported of this kind in one season.

South Coast.—Another herring of a large size, and full
of spawn, arrive on the south coast of Nova Scotia in May;
but they are lean and not much esteemed, although taken
in considerable quantities.

West Coast.—In Chedebucto Bay, and particularly in
Crow Harbour and near Fox Island, a considerable fishery
takes place in the months of autumn; these herrings are
caught both by the usual herring-nets and by the seine.
These are of good size and of excellent quality, and, with
the mackerel fishing, give employment to a great number
of the inhabitants. (M‘Gregor’s British America, vol. i.
pp. Lie 17 20)

It ought to be here remarked, that the quantity of her-
rings visiting any locality is generally thought to be indi-
cated by the number caught; this is by no means always
a just mode of judging. The fishermen, as before men-
tioned, trust too much to the appearance of water-fowl,
the larger fishes, &c.; and although there may be great
abundance of herrings in one place, they may be misled
by these appearances, and go to another place, where the

PERIODICAL VISITS OF THE HERRING. 83

sole circumstance of a few sickly herrings swimming near
the surface takes them from the proper fishing-ground ;
but much depends upon the nets and activity of the indi-
vidual fishermen.

From the preceding account it will be observed that
there are two kinds of herrings,—one that visits the
coasts in summer and the other in winter,—but we can-
not find that marked difference which entitles us to give
the characteristics of a new species to the herrings of
either season; we therefore venture to doubt the pro-
priety of that able author, Yarrell, giving the name of
Clupea Leach to the herring described by him; and
since writing this remark we find that Professor Valen-
clennes agrees with us on this point. (Baron Cuvier’s
Hist. Nat. des Poissons, edited by Valenciennes, vol. xx.
p. 175.)

KF 2

CHAPTER VIII.
MIGRATION.*

Various accounts have been given of the visits of the
herring upon our coasts. Many writers have stated, and
some scientific works still state, that the herring comes
from the Arctic Circle, in large shoals of some leagues’
extent, dividing into lesser shoals on coming towards the
north of Scotland—one body proceeding to the west coast
of Scotland and to Ireland, and another to the east coast,
each directing its course southward. Others state, that
although the herrings donot come from the Arctic Circle,
they at least come from a considerable distance northward
of Scotland. But we consider that the herrings inhabit
the seas adjacent to the coasts, bays, or rivers where
they resort for the purpose of spawning; and that after
spawning they return to sea in the neighbourhood, where
they continue, and where they feed until the spawning
season again approaches, while the fry, on being vivified,
continues near the spawning-ground until it is of suffi-
cient size. This is the most rational conclusion, and the
following are our reasons for this opinion :—

1. We find every year, at a certain period of the year,
a particular size of herring always resorting to the same

* Read at the Zoological Section of the British Association meeting for
the Promotion of Science held at Manchester in 1861.

MIGRATION. 85

place ; for example,the size of the herrings caught off the
projecting coast of Stadtland in Norway is much larger
than the size of those caught on the west coast of Shet-
land; which kind, again, is nearly twice as large as the
first-caught Thurso herrings; and these are smaller than
the Isle of Man, Minch, and Loch Fyne herrings, smaller
than the Caithness and Banff herrings, and much smaller
than the herrings caught off Aberdeenshire, Fifeshire, and
Berwickshire. Again, the Yarmouth herrings are smaller
than those of Aberdeenshire and Berwickshire, and in the
West Highland lochs the size of the herrings in such
loch is distinctly seen and known; for instance, in some
of the Highland lochs, for years, large quantities have
been caught, uniformly of the size of the tenth class, while-
in other lochs the size is uniformly of the seventh or
eighth class.

A size of herrings similar to those of Yarmouth till
lately visited Lumfiord in Denmark, and still visits the
coasts of that country. Now, on the Mecklenburg coast
in the Baltic, the size of the herrings is larger than
those of Denmark; and proceeding up the Baltic coast
above Mecklenburg, namely, on the Pomeranian and part
of the Prussian coasts, the herrings are fully one-third
smaller ; and again, still farther up, they are larger, and
about the size of the Moray Frith herrings. Thus those
who argue that the herrings come from the north must
furnish two kinds of herrings,—namely, one kind which,
in its progress, grows smaller on its journey, and another
which grows larger. Even in the English Channel the
varieties may be easily distinguished in the neighbouring
localities; for instance, Professor Valenciennes in his
edition of Cuvier’s ‘‘ Natural History of Fishes,” says, “ It
is not difficult, with a little practice, to discover the dif-

86 MIGRATION.

ference which exists between the herrings fished near
Calais and those fished near Dieppe; those fished near
Calais have the body longer and more flat and compressed
on the sides than those of Dieppe, which are rounder and
shorter” (vol. xx. p. 47).

2. As to quality, nothing so much proclaims the error
of the tale of their all coming from the north as the
general state of the herring. For instance, as already
mentioned, those caught off Shetland are not nearly so
fat as those caught about the same time on the coast
from Thurso to Loch Broom. In the first of the season
those caught in Loch Fyne are not so extremely fat as the
Thurso herrings ; and the herrings of Loch Fyne are supe-
rior in quality to those of the east coast. Again, there is
a marked difference in appearance and quality (and this
is easily distinguished by those accustomed to see them)
between those caught near Caithness and Morayshire,
and those caught off Aberdeenshire and Berwickshire.
The quality of the Danish and Baltic herrings is inferior
to the Moray Frith and West Highland herrings; and
those caught on the coast of Holland are so inferior as
not to be pickled at all by the Dutch. The Yarmouth ©
herrings are inferior in some respects to those of the
north of Scotland ; and the herrings got on the French
coasts are also of inferior quality.

3. As to the time of appearance, we find much to prove
that the herrings are natives of the seas adjoming the
coasts on which they spawn. As a few instances, it may
be stated as well known, that herrings are caught in Loch
Fyne before any are caught near Cape Wrath; and off
Berwickshire and Aberdeenshire by the Dutch before any
are caught off Caithness; and even off Yarmouth herrings
have been caught in May. We find they are not generally

MIGRATION. 87

caught on the Atlantic side so early as on the east coast of
Scotland; and the various times of their approaching the
coasts in the Baltic prove the fixity of their places of
resort.

4, No well-authenticated instance has been given of
the herrings having been seen approaching the south in
a high northern latitude. Indeed, although we have con-
versed with intelligent masters of the Dutch herring
busses, we could not find any one who ever saw any
considerable shoal on the northern part of their fishing
grounds; and none of the seamen of our Greenland whale
ships ever saw any of those shoals of the magnitude so
fabulously described proceeding southwards ; and Scoresby
made the same statement to ourselves,—namely, that he
had not, in his many voyages, ever seen any shoals of her-
rings proceeding southwards.

5. No shoals of herrings have ever been ascertained to
exist in the Greenland seas, and no herrings have ever
been found in the stomachs of the whales caught there.
The food of the Balena mysticetus, or common whale,
consists of Actinie, Sepize, Medusz, Cancri, and Helices.
The Narwal inhabits the seas near Spitzbergen, but re-
mains of Sepize only were found in the stomachs of several
examined by Scoresby. The 7vichecus rosmarus (Walrus
or Sea-horse) inhabits the icy seas adjacent to Spitz-
bergen ; in the stomachs of those examined only shrimps
(Crangon vulgaris), craw-fish (Palinurus vulgaris), and
young seals (Phoce) were found. Of other marine
animals examined by him, Scoresby says the Alca arc-
tica (Auk or Puffin) feeds principally on shrimps and a
small species of helix; of the Alca alva (Little Auk),
that it also feeds on shrimps; of the Colymbus Gylde
(Guillimot), it feeds on shrimps and small fishes ; of the

88 MIGRATION.

Squalus boreales (Greenland Shark), he says, “ A fish
resembling a whiting was found in the stomach of one
that I killed.” Captain Phipps only caught the Sucker
(Cyclopteris viperus), and the Coal fish (Gadus car-
bonarius), and no herrings, when fishing near Spitzber-
gen. Moreover, Scoresby, in his list of ‘“ Fishes found
in the Arctic Regions,” does not include herrings (Arctic
Regions, vol.i. p. 540). Egede, who resided fifteen years
in Greenland, after enumerating various kinds of fish
caught there, says, “ No herrings are to be seen” (Natu-
ral History of Greenland).

6. We find that those species of whales which feed
principally on herrings frequent our own shores and those
of Norway. Scoresby says of the Balena musculus,
“This species of whale frequents the coasts of Scotland,
Ireland, Norway, &c., and is said principally to feed on
herrings” (Voyage, vol. i. p. 482); and the Balena ros-
trata inhabits principally the Norwegian seas.

7. Bloch, the celebrated naturalist (with whom Lace-
pede in this particular statement coincides), has estab-
lished that fishes of a similar size, even in fresh water,
could not make, from spring till autumn, the long voyage
attributed to the herring.

8. The same naturalist further states, that ‘“ herrings
may be found in certain localities all the year through,”
and this coincides with the opinion of the experienced
fishermen at Loch Fyne and other places; and it is well
ascertained that herrings, either young or old, may be
caught in the Forth any month in the year.

9. The herrings mentioned as coming from the north
are never known to return, or even to proceed southward,
but when proceeding to some coast for the purpose of
spawning.

MIGRATION. 89

10. And we also may ask, “ Why the smallest herrings
proceed to certain places in the Baltic, and the larger to
the North Sea?” and as it is asserted that the whales are
the cause of their flying south, why do we not see the
whale on every coast every year? Mr Yarrell, in his
valuable work on fishes, truly says: ‘There can be no
doubt that the herring inhabits the deep water all round
our coast, and only approaches the shore for the purpose
of depositing its spawn within the immediate influence
of the two principal agents in vivification, increased tem-
perature and oxygen; and as soon as that essential opera-
tion is effected, the shoals that haunt our coast disappear,
but individuals are to be found, and many are caught
throughout the year” (vol. i. p. 112).

11. Various other fishes have similar habits in spawn-
ing. The salmon ascends rivers from the sea at parti-
cular periods for the purpose of spawning. The sprat.
appears in shoals, in various localities of the coasts of the
British islands, from November to March. The shad or
alosa is found in shoals in some of our rivers from May to
July: in the Severn generally in May, and it continues
there about twomonths; inthe Mediterranean, nearSmyrna
and Rosetta; and it ascends the Nile as high as Cairo in
December and January. ‘The pilchard appears in shoals
on the coast of Cornwall, from June to the end of the
year ; and the tunny comes in-shore on the coasts of the
Mediterranean in summer. All these fishes appear to
have the same habits of gregariously visiting various
coasts and rivers at particular seasons, for a similar pur-
pose ; but no one would on this account pronounce them
natives or inhabitants of a distant quarter of the globe.

In short, from all the circumstances known of the
natural history of the herring, in regard to its visits on

90 MIGRATION.

our own coasts and the coasts of other countries, it is
reasonable to conclude that it inhabits the seas in the
neighbourhood of the coasts on which it spawns, and that
it arrives at particular seasons near the coasts for the
purpose of spawning, the shoals leaving the coasts im-
mediately thereafter; and the early or late, and distant
and near, approach to the coasts in different years, per-
haps depends, as before remarked, on the clear and warm,
and dark and cold, weather of the season, as well as upon
the depth of water at the feeding and spawning grounds.

BOOK IL.

ON FISHING AND CURING.

CHAPTER I.
OF THE DIFFERENT MODES OF FISHING THE HERRING.

1. THE SCOTCH METHOD.

Boats.—In fishing herrings on the east coast of Scot-
land, the fishermen generally use open boats, the largest
being about 38 feet in length and 14 feet in breadth,
having two masts and four sails; but on the west
coast, boats, with half decks, are used, which are supe-
rior to those generally in use on the east coast, as far as
comfort is concerned.

Nets.—The strongest and most durable nets are made
of hempen twine, and were formerly principally made by
the family of the fisherman; but of late they have been
manufactured by patent machinery. Nets of cotton have
been lately used, and although not so durable as those of
hemp, they are cheaper, and are found, when not dyed, to
take a larger quantity of herrings. Hach net has generally
from 12 to 15 score of meshes or squares, and is 50
yards in length; and each boat has from 12 to 50
nets on board. The meshes of the net are in some
cases 1 inch, and in others, 14 inch square; therefore,
a twelve-score net of 1 inch square is 20 feet in depth;

92 DIFFERENT MODES OF FISHING THE HERRING.

of 14 inch square, 25 feet; and a fifteen-score net,
25 feet, or 31 feet in depth. The law requires that
each mesh shall not be under 1 inch square. In pre-
paring the net for the fishing, the upper part is fastened
to a rope made of several cords joined in one, frequently
as many as twelve; this is called the rope or cork
baulk. The ends of each net are strengthened by
being attached to a rope (or cords of two or three
plies joined together), which ends are termed in certain
coasts lugs. The lower part of the net is joined to
another rope of two or three plies of cord, which of
course, in ordinary cases, must strengthen the whole;
but when fishermen fear that the nets may come in
contact with foul or rocky ground, the cords or rope of
the lower part of the net are left off, which prevents the
net being torn so much as it otherwise might be. At the
lower part of the net are loops, to which sinkers (of stone
or other substances) can be attached when considered
necessary.

Buoys.—When about to be used all the nets are united
together at the top, and between each net is fastened a
buoy to a rope of four to eight fathoms in depth; the
buoy attached being in some places an inflated sheep or
dog skin ; and in other places, four inflated ox-bladders—
the buoys being tarred, and the initials of the owner of
the net painted on the outside, this being the only dis-
tinctive mark by which fishermen in case of storms, or
entanglements of nets (and the latter circumstance, from
want of proper management, often occurs), can know their
own nets.

Fleets or drijts of nets—The whole of the nets united
are termed a jleet of nets, and in some places (where the
nets are not anchored, and the boat attached to one end

DIFFERENT MODES OF FISHING THE HERRING. 93

of the whole, when they drive along with the wind or
tide) they are termed a drift.

Before proceeding to the fishing ground, the whole of
the nets are carefully stowed into the boat in regular order,
the oldest being generally piled on the top, and, of course,
first thrown out.

Fishing-ground.—On arriving at the fishing ground,
and after sunset, while some of the men are rowing, or
steering the boat under sail, across the current or stream,
the others are carefully “shooting” or shaking out the
nets into the sea; the whole fleet of nets, when thus
thrown out, is (if not anchored) attached at the stem
or bow of the boat to a two-and-a-half inch rope, of
about forty fathoms in length; but in cases where the
water is not too deep, the fleet of nets is attached at each
end to a rope and anchor thrown into the sea, which re-
tain the whole in a proper position, notwithstanding the
winds or currents; but in many cases the depth of the
fishing ground prevents anchoring, and there is, besides,
another objection to it, namely, the tide or current may
be so rapid as to elevate towards the surface the lower
part of the net thus opposed to the stream.

Anchor or drift.—In either case, where there are many
boats confined to a small extent of fishing ground, it is ab-
solutely necessary that all the fishermen previously agree
whether the nets shall be anchored, or whether they shall
drift ; as otherwise, the boats and nets drifting may come
in contact with those anchored. At most of the fishing
stations it is therefore previously arranged among the
fishermen which of the plans is to be adopted.

Hauling the Nets.— When the fishermen considerthat the
nets have remained a sufficient length of time in the water,
or when they see the buoys sinking with the weight of

94 DIFFERENT MODES OF FISHING THE HERRING.

herrings in the net, or when, by pulling in part of the
net, they see that a sufficiency of herrings is caught, or
generally (in ordinary occasions) at daybreak, they haul
their nets by bringing the end of the fleet of nets to the
side of the boat, and spreading them as they take them
in, shake the herrings into the boat, at the same time
laying the nets regularly above eaeh other.

The herrings are thereafter, sometimes at the fishing
ground, and sometimes at the shore, delivered to the
purchasers, being in most cases measured by a wooden
measure of the size of a herring barrel, called a cran, or
into baskets of a regulated size, into which the herrings
are lifted by shovels; in some cases, particularly on the west
coast when scarce, they are sold by the number.

Seining.—Seining or taking the fish at sea, or on shore
in nets, after performing a circle or semicircle, is some-
times practised, particularly in the Clyde, but it is con-
sidered objectionable.

Yairs.—There is a very simple and primitive mode of
taking herrings without nets, namely, by means of yairs.
These are formed by driving stakes into the ground, at
the low water of spring-tide; the stakes are crossed with
twigs or brushwood, which together form a kind of wicker-
work, and sometimes enclose large quantities of her-
rings. There are also yairs of stone at Lochbroom,
Scalpa, Portree, and other places. Yairs are generally in
the form of a semicircle from the land, and are lower
than high water, and the herrings which enter them are
left by the receding tide. As many as 2000 barrels of
herrings have been taken off the glebe of the parish at
Lochbroom in a yair (built there by the clergyman of the
parish) in a single night; but these yairs are considered
injurious to the fishermen, as their nets are damaged

DIFFERENT MODES OF FISHING THE HERRING. 95

when they come in contact with them, and the boats are
prevented fishing when the shoal is largest. The fishermen
of Lochbroom and adjacent districts were so impressed
with the injury done to the fishery, that on one occasion
they proceeded in a body, and in two days removed them ;
but Dr Ross, the clergyman, laid the case before the Lord
Advocate, and six of the fishermen were tried and sen-
tenced each to two months’ imprisonment, for using force
in the demolition of the yairs; it may, however, be ques-
tioned how far it is right to allow such impediments to the
fishermen in their lawful avocation in an arm of the sea.
Cruives.—The cruives or wicker baskets, sunk in the
tideway of the arms of the sea and rivers, as may be seen
at the present day in the Forth near Kincardine, is another
primitive method of fishing ; although not exclusively used
for fishing herrings, they often take considerable quanti-
ties, as well as sprats, young herrings, and other fishes.

2. YARMOUTH FISHERY.

Fishing-vessels.— This fishing is principally carried on in
three-masted decked vessels, or luggers, of from 20 to 50
tons, having three lug sails, top-sails, mizen, fore-sail, and
jib, and they are so strongly constructed as to be able to
remain out in any kind of weather. The largest vessels
have twelve men anda boy. The crew are paid according
to the quantity of herrings caught.

Nets.—KEvery vessel of an ordinary size shoots 100
nets, each 48 feet in length, and 30 feet in depth, and
each net is attached by two seizings of one-and-a-half-
inch rope, having a depth of 18 feet, to a four-stranded
(generally four inch) warp of 3600 feet in length, or,
more properly speaking, there are five warps of 120

96 DIFFERENT MODES OF FISHING THE HERRING.

fathoms each, joined together, making the length of
600 fathoms, or 3600 feet. This warp, with the nets, is
made fast to a rope from the bow of the vessel, which
rope, in stormy weather, can be let out, to ease the strain,
to the extent of 100 fathoms; but in ordinary weather
there is only about 40 fathoms out, that is, the distance
from the vessel to the nearest end of the nets is 40 fathoms,
or 240 feet.

Spare Nets.—Besides the 100 nets in the water, each
boat has generally 100 spare nets on board, to be used
in case of injury, or loss of the others.

Buoys.—For each net there are two buoys, being bar-
rels of about the size of a halfanker, of about four gallons
measure, attached to the warp; and there are, besides,
four buoys to mark the distance, one at half the length
of the whole of the nets, painted half red and half white,
and other two at the quarter distances, quartered red and
white ; and at the extreme end is a smaller cask painted
white. All these buoys have the names of the ship,
master, port, and owner, painted on them; each net is,
besides, furnished with pieces of cork to give the upper
side the necessary buoyancy.

Time of Fishing.—The vessels proceed to sea about
the beginning of October, and the fishing lasts two
months or more. They fish about half seas-over in about
fifteen fathoms water, guided generally by the birds or
thickish water. They shoot their nets at sunset; the nets
are taken in once or twice in the night, and at daylight.
With such a length of nets, a considerable quantity may
be caught at one time, and as many as ten lasts (about
100 barrels of herrings) have been fished at one haul.
The nets are taken in by means of the capstan; when
brought to midships, they are shaken into the main hold,

DIFFERENT MODES OF FISHING THE HERRING. a7

where the herrings fall upon a platform, and are imme-
diately roosed (strongly sprinkled with salt), and put into
boxed apartments of the hold on a level with the plat-
form, but sufficiently elevated to permit the pickle, or
liquid from the herrings, to run off. The vessels return
to port as early as possible in the beginning of the season,
on account of the value of the first herrings, say with one
and a half or two lasts (fifteen to twenty barrels). We
may form some idea of the extent of this fishery from
the circumstance of there being sometimes 500 decked
vessels engaged in it. The utmost precaution is neces-
sary to prevent entanglement of the nets; consequently,
no fishing vessel anchors, excepting during the day, when
the nets are not out, or unless the weather is so calm at
night as to prevent the possibility of shooting the nets;
and during night each vessel has a lantern at the bow
upon a pole sufficiently elevated to be seen at the dis-
tance of five miles. It is evident a unity of purpose and
a unanimity in execution are necessary ; for if some were
to persist in anchoring and others to drive or drift, serious
injury would occur. A very good understanding exists
among the fishermen as to finding stray or lost nets,
namely, that if seen they shall be immediately taken in
and delivered to the vessel they belong to, upon payment
of one shilling for each net. During the two months the
boats are at the fishing, they gradually proceed as far
east as Aldbro’, a distance of about thirty-five miles from
the spot where they commence.

As it is the fishermen’s opinion that the herrings are
smallest near both coasts, they generally go half-sea over,
to get the largest herrings, which are preferred for smok-
ing. The fishermen here have frequently observed that,
during a storm or gale of wind the herrings sink and dis-

G

98 DIFFERENT MODES OF FISHING THE HERRING.

appear, but after a storm they generally expect an abun-
dant fishing. This fishery has been long frequented by
the Dutch and French. The Dutch generally cure them
for immediate use, or for the purpose of being smoked,
but the French generally cure them as white herrings.
The Dutch have their usual fishing-busses suited for that
fishery, being flat-bottomed ; and the French have some-
times vessels as large as 70 tons measurement.

3. HASTINGS FISHERY.

Hastings Method.—They commence fishing herrings
off Hastings in November: each boat has from forty-six
to sixty nets, 80 yards in length, and 27 feet in depth;
and here the fishermen are careful to shoot their nets
north and south, or across the tide, which runs east and
west, so that they may drift with the ebbing and flowing
of the tide. When there is little or no wind, the nets
are allowed to sink within a yard or less of the bottom,
but they generally place them near the surface when
there is a good breeze. It is observed here by the fisher-
men, that if the wind prevails for some time from the
north-west, this being off the land, and the water of
course smooth, the fishing is generally successful; but
if a south or south-east wind prevails for some time,
the fishermen are often unsuccessful, and they consider
that the herrings in that case proceed to the opposite
coast.

4, IRISH COAST FISHING.

Irish Methods.—The modes of fishing on the coasts
of Ireland are various, and some of them remarkable ; the

DIFFERENT MODES OF FISHING THE HERRING. 99

nets and boats are of various dimensions, and their size
and number depend on the means of the fishermen.

Nets.—The nets are generally made of flaxen twine,
while they ought to be of hemp, this substance being
more durable; and they are most frequently tarred,
instead of being barked. The tar must give a disagreeable
flavour to the herrings; besides, tarred nets are not so
durable. The fishermen in some localities, at Killybegs
for instance, generally anchor their nets, leave them in
the water, and proceed on shore, and return to take them
in the following morning.

Seine or Haul Nets—At Valentia they have a mode
of fishing with deep-sea “‘ seines” which is generally very
productive. These seines or hauling-nets are composed
of fifteen nets joined together, five nets in length and
three nets in depth, each single net being 20 fathoms in
length, and 170 meshes, or 5 fathoms in depth, so that
the whole net, when joined, is 100 fathoms in length and
15 fathoms in depth, with a cork-rope at the top, and
leaden sinkers at the foot-rope. In attaching them to
the rope, seven yards of net are put on to four yards of
rope in the centre, and at the breasts and wings one-
third is taken in, or six yards of net go to four yards of
rope ; the centre part of the net, for about 20 fathoms, is
stouter than at the breast and wings, three threads being
in all the twine, but that for the centre is spun thicker.
There are two warps requisite, each about 60 fathoms in
length ; and there are small half-inch ropes called brazls,
fixed to the foot-rope, that are hauled up to purse the net,
and bring in the foot-rope quickly, so as to prevent the fish
escaping at the bottom, the top-rope always floating on
the surface. These nets are generally supplied by fifteen
men, each bringing a drift-net, or piece of netting of the

a2

100 DIFFERENT MODES OF FISHING THE HERRING.

requisite size. In some cases one individual supplies the
whole, who, for the use of his nets and boats, gets ths of
the fish—the master seaman getting * ths, and the other
fourteen men getting th each. They pull their boats
so as to surround the shoal of herrings ; and when they
haul in about 10 fathoms, they pull upon the foot-rope,
and tuck the fish into the largest of the two boats which
always accompany each seine-net. The size of the mesh is
from 1 to 14 inch square ; from 80,000 to 100,000 her-
rings are sometimes taken by such a sezne in one haul.
These nets are in general use on the coast between Dingle
Bay and Kenmare. The whole seine may, if necessary,
be separated, and converted into drift-nets by addition of
ropes, corks, and leads to each.

Curragh Fishing._—The Curragh, or boat made of hoops,
and covered with canvas, is much employed in fishing
herrings in various parts of the coast, and even this pecu-
liar antique boat is sometimes not to be had where it
could be of use.

Fishing with Horses.—Horses are employed instead of
boats where the latter cannot be had, but it appears that
the fishermen complain of this opposition. In the first
Report of the Irish Commissioners, page 11, it is stated
that the ‘fishermen complain a good deal of the prac-
tice which the farmers have, of shooting their nets off
their horses instead of boats.”

Blanket and Sheet Fishing, —An equally striking and
unusual mode of fishing is, or has been, practised in
Downing Bay. Here it appears that “the poor people,
for want of other means, sew their blankets and sheets
together, often to the number of sixty, for the purpose
of forming an equivalent to a net, each getting a share
of herrings in proportion, the people having nothing to

DIFFERENT MODES OF FISHING THE HERRING. TOL

cover them when their bed-clothes are used in this
way.” (Commissioners Report—Lieutenant M‘Gladdery,

p. 50).

5. DUTCH FISHERY.

Dutch “ Great Fishery.”—The Dutch “ great,” or
““nickled herring-fishery,” formerly began on St John’s
Day, 24th of June, but the fishermen are now allowed to
begin earlier. It is that which is carried on in summer
and harvest in the latitudes of Shetland and Edinburgh,
and on the coast of Britain, with decked vessels, having
keels, which can stow twenty lasts of herrings, at the
rate of fourteen barrels per last, in the hold, besides the
nets; having not less than a full fleet of forty nets on
board. The object of this fishery is “to fish herrings of
the best quality, and to gut, salt, and barrel them at sea,
for foreign sale and home consumption.” (Dutch Fishery
Laws, Arts. 13 and 14, Art, 3, p. 17.)

Dutch “ Smali Fishery.”—The small or “ fresh herring-
fishery,” is that which is carried on between the coast of
Holland and Britain, and off Yarmouth, in deep water,
with flat-bottomed vessels without keels, which do not
usually come into harbour, but upon the beach. It was
forbidden to gut such herrings, either at sea or on shore,
under pain of imprisonment for one month, and the penalty
of five guilders for every hundred herrings, as well as the
confiscation of the herrings, unless special permission was
obtained (Dutch Fishery Laws, Arts. 15 and 16); but
this law is now not insisted on.

“ Pan Fishery.”—The pan herring-fishery is that which
is carried on in the mouths of the rivers and bays, and
on the coast of Holland, not farther than three miles from

102 DIFFERENT MODES OF FISHING THE HERRING.

the shore. It was also forbidden to gut, or barrel as
pickled, such herrings, under the penalty of one month’s
imprisonment, and of five guilders for each hundred her-
rings, besides confiscation; but this law is relaxed.
Busses or Fishing Vessels.—Their superior mode of
curing long gave the Dutch the command of the various
markets where good herrings were preferred, and 600 to
1000 busses used to proceed in former times to this
fishery ; but for some years back the number of busses
has been annually diminishing, and the whole number of
herring busses fitted out in Holland did not exceed 90
in 1857. These busses are strongly built vessels, resem-
bling ‘the Dutch galliots or merchant vessels, as some-
times seen in our ports, and are abundantly supplied with
every material necessary for prosecuting the herring-
fishery. They have a sufficient number of oak casks,
full hooped at both ends, and a due quantity of St Ubes
salt, or of the excellent salt manufactured in Holland ;
such buss has generally a crew of fourteen or fifteen
men. Hach buss has generally fifty, and must not have
less than forty nets of 32 fathoms each in length, 8
fathoms in depth, and a buoy rope of 8 fathoms; an
empty barrel, not quite so large as a herring barrel, is
attached to each buoy rope. This fleet of nets is again
divided into four parts, for the purpose of noticing the
position of the nets, and facilitating the taking them in ;
and at the extreme end a white painted buoy is attached,
having the name of the vessel and master painted on it.
The yarn of the nets must be of good unmixed Dutch or
Baltic hemp, which, before being used, must be inspected
by sworn surveyors. The yarn must be well spun, and
each full net must be 740 meshes in length and 68 in
depth, and the nets must be inspected and marked be-

SHS8SNd ONIYURH HOLA

yp Ao Umer,

al

DIFFERENT MODES OF FISHING THE HERRING. 103

fore they can be used. (Dutch Fishery Laws, Art. 83-98.)
The Dutch always shoot their nets at sunset, throwing
them to the windward, or in such a way as the wind may
prevent the vessel coming upon them. The whole of the
nets are attached to four strong ropes joined to each
other, and are taken in before sunrise by a capstan
worked by four or five men, and are shaken out by other
four men. The herrings are immediately thereafter gutted
and assorted into distinctive qualities,—such as “ voll”
(full of milt or roe), ‘‘matjes” (milt and roe small),
“ylen” (shotten or empty), besides other subordinate de-
scriptions connected with the quality, as may be seen
where the Dutch mode of curing is described. Hight
men are employed in gutting and four in packing.
‘“ Jagers” (pronounced yagers), fast-sailing vessels, attend
to carry the first herrings to the Dutch and Hamburg
markets. .

The following are the rules to be observed by the Dutch
fishing vessels and jagers during the jager season :—

“(1.) The signals pointing out to what ports the jagers
are destined are,—to Vlaardingen and Hamburg, a blue
flag; to Maassluys, a Dutch flag; and to Amsterdam, a
white flag ;—each having a herring buss painted on it.

“ (2.) When a sufficient quantity of herrings are caught
by the busses, a flag is hoisted at the top-mast, and the
jager hoists a flag under the signal to show that the
signal has been observed.

“(3.) The busses are to remain as near as convenient
to each other and to the jagers; and the jagers must be
in the latitude of Shetland at the time fixed by law.

“(4,) The busses are not to deliver herrings to any
other than the jagers appointed.

“(5.) The jagers shall sail from the fleet in the order

104 DIFFERENT MODES OF FISHING THE HERRING.

and with such quantities of herrings as shall be fixed by
the Dutch Commissioners.

“(6.) A jager commodore is appointed to regulate
the proceedings of the jagers; and he may order them
to proceed with such quantities and qualities as he may
see fit.

‘“(7.) No herrings are to be delivered to the jagers
without exchanging signed jager-lists, with the date of
delivery, stating the quantity and quality, and whether
packed or unpacked; and the unpacked can only be
given to the two first jagers, and to those going to
Hamburg.

“(8.) No herrings to be considered as packed unless
the barrels have lain a night in the hold, and the day
after (or later) repacked. Besides their wonted.mark on
the side of the barrel, there must also be the first letters
of the master’s Christian and surname, and these under a
V for full, and an M for matjes, before being delivered
to the jagers.

(9.) Those captains of busses who have not delivered
herrings to the jagers must, on their return, if required,
prove that it was not in their power to do so, or they may
be fined.

‘“(10.) Each master of the busses must deliver the
herrings he has on board to the homeward-bound jager if
required, which must take the herrings offered by the
master of each buss indiscriminately.

“(11.) The masters of the jagers must take note of the
busses they meet, and of those that do not deliver her-
rings, and give or send a list of them to the Commis-
sioners on their return.

““(12.) Any contravention of these rules renders the
masters liable to be dismissed without wages, and not to

DIFFERENT MODES OF FISHING THE HERRING. 105

be again employed.” (Orders voor Jagers en Stuirlieden
behoudene tot de Haaring Vischery van Zuid en Noord
Holland.)

The Dutch herring-fishery laws have lately been con-
siderably modified ; and the advantages of a Fishery Board
and inspecting officers having been fully ascertained from
the great success of the British system, the Dutch Govern-
ment has created a Board of Commissioners, with similar
powers to those possessed by the Commissioners of the
British Herring-Fishery.

6. NORWEGIAN FISHERY.

Norwegian Method.—The herring-fishery of Norway
is very considerable, and gives employment to a great
number of the inhabitants on the sea coast. The modes
of fishing are various, and there is great variety as to the
size of boats and number of nets. The general practice
is, that when the herrings are caught near the shore, the
boats carry the herrings to the curing stations, or, if at a
distance from the shore, there are large vessels lying,
with barrels and salt, prepared to buy and cure. The
nets and mode of fishing are similar to ours; but there is
one mode of fishing which has not yet been practised on
our coasts,—namely, with a long range of strong nets,
having small meshes to prevent the herrings being fixed
in the meshes, which would cause the nets to sink, and
defeat the purpose for which they are intended, they
often drive into the narrow bays or creeks among the
rocks, where the herrings abound, an enormous body of
herrings, where, the nets being made fast, the herrings
cannot escape, but are taken out and cured at leisure. A
friend has sent us the following interesting description of

106 DIFFERENT MODES OF FISHING THE HERRING.

a scene witnessed in the beginning of the year on the
coast of Norway :—

“ Being desirous of seeing the bustle and details of the
herring-fishery on the coast of Norway, I proceeded in a
boat, on Tuesday the 24th January, to the coast near
Hitteroe. The morning was beautiful beyond descrip-
tion ; there was not a cloud, scarcely one degree of cold,
and not a breath of wind, although the sea rose in lofty
undulations. The first appearance in proceeding out of
the bay was innumerable masses, like floating houses,
which turned out to be boats filled with empty barrels
piled high on deck. The nearer I came to the Sound,
the more numerous were the fishing vessels; and the
Sound, or Narrows, which is about two miles in length
and some hundred fathoms in breadth, was almost covered
with a great variety of vessels,—namely, of that descrip-
tion which were full of empty casks, large pilot boats
from the east coast of Norway, and sloops and other
decked vessels. On arriving in the Sound, I observed,
along the coast of Hitteroe, a lengthened range of boats
and nets projecting from the shore. Having sailed out
to the Qualsbjerg or Hualsbierg (the whale’s rock), which
lies at the outer end of the Sound, I was surprised and
delighted at the sublime sight. Boats and nets appeared
in hundreds upon the beautifully transparent ocean ; the
busy voices of the men mingled with the shrill pipe of
the sea-gull, countless myriads of which were waging war
against the herrings along with the fisherman and the
whale. The birds, in rapid evolutions, were whirling in
the air, or dipping in the wave, their snow-white watery
plumage sparkling like diamonds in the sunshine ; and in
the distance, at various intervals, watery columns ap-
peared as if rising from the ocean, caused by the blowing

DIFFERENT MODES OF FISHING THE HERRING. 107

of the numerous whales following the herrings. Having
proceeded a little farther on, and while looking at the
birds, whose eager appetite and rapid motion attracted
the eye, suddenly a rushing sound aroused me, and a large
wave elevated the boat to an unusual height. Turning
my head towards the point from whence the noise came,
I cried out, ‘Keep back, there is a rock a-head.’ The
people in the boat turning round, smiled, and said, ‘ It is
a whale.’ Part of its body was raised about eight feet
above the water, and as it lay near the bows, it seemed
at least thirty or forty feet in length; the head and tail
were not visible ; but it was black, and in some respects
like a rock, and on its back the upraised herrings brightly
shone and leaped. My boatmen rowed silently backward,
and after the lapse of thirty or forty seconds, the monster
sunk slowly about two feet, and in a moment sent up a
waterspout, of the thickness of about a couple of feet,
with great force, to the height of several fathoms, and
with a noise that resounded among the neighbouring
cliffs. As it did not again appear, we rowed in among
the small islands, where the nets were now being taken
in, the fishermen having long rollers along the sides of the
boat, to facilitate their hauling in the nets, the threads
of which were not visible from the quantity of herrings.
At a distance the net appeared like a white cascade fall-
ing into the boat, and shining brilliantly in the sun. The
boats were soon loaded, and they were then rowed either
to the shore or to the larger vessels which cure or bring
the herrings to remote salting-places. The herrings are
all sold by the number, twenty-four score being con-
sidered equal to a barrel of fresh herrings of ordinary
size. The seller counts them out by fours, calling out
the number, while on the deck of the buyer’s vessel two

108 DIFFERENT MODES OF FISHING THE HERRING.

men stand to see that the counting is correct. At every
salting station may be seen piles of thousands of empty
barrels, and two persons can prepare twenty-four barrels
of herrings per day in gutting, salting, and packing. A
barrel will hold about twenty score ; but after remaining
in salt eight or ten days they subside, and the barrel
then requires three or four score more to fill it, after
which it is headed up for sale. On the other side of the
Sound we saw what is termed a ‘lock,’—that is, several
nets joined together, forming a bar before a small bay,
into which the herrings were crowded. In this place
there were several thousand barrels of herrings, so com-
pactly confined together that an oar could stand in the
mass. There were in the neighbourhood of Hitteroe
altogether about 4000 or 5000 nets, and about 2000 boats
and vessels; and there were caught, according to the
opinion of several intelligent persons, this day not less
than 10,000 barrels.”

7. PRUSSIAN METHOD.

On the Prussian shores there are two modes of
fishing, which are as follows: After the ice departs in
the spring, and from February until June, they fish
herrings principally by means of seine-nets; and the
seining is always carried on at night. The shores being
generally a fine sandy beach, are well fitted for this
operation. There are eight men attached to each net,
which is of a very large size, being from 150 to 200
fathoms in length, and from 2 to 4 fathoms in depth,
with a deep bay in the centre, the whole buoyed by
corks; the sinkers are generally of stone. The men
make signals by means of lights, while the boat is pro-

DIFFERENT MODES OF FISHING THE HERRING. 109

ceeding round the semicircle shooting the net. When the
rope is fully out, or extended from the shore, the man on
land shows a light; and when the bag or centre of the
net is thrown overboard, a light is shown in the boat.
The boat then proceeds round to the shore, when the
rope in the boat, on its coming to land, is taken on shore,
and the net is drawn to land by four men at each rope ;
indeed, the operation is similar to the common mode of
seining salmon in this country. Upwards of 300 barrels
of herrings have been taken in this way by one draught
of the net. These spring herrings being always of an
inferior quality, are smoked or used fresh. The other
method is practised from September till the winter sets
in, and is similar to the common mode of fishing her-
rings in this country in open boats; these herrings being
better than the spring-caught herrings, are salted and
barrelled.

8. GULF OF BOTHNIA.

The inhabitants of Russian Finland fish the small
herring called strémling in spring and harvest, generally
with seine-nets. In winter, however, one method used
by them deserves notice from its novelty and ingenuity.
When the guif is frozen over, and no other mode of fishing
can be adopted, they break a circle of holes at the dis-
tance of eight or ten feet from each other, and by means
of a boat-hook, or small spar, they carry round ropes at-
tached to the ends of the net, and thus form a circle with
the net in the water under the ice, and drag it out at a
large hole at one side. By this mode they frequently take
considerable quantities of herrings as well as other fishes.

110 DIFFERENT MODES OF FISHING THE HERRING.

9. BEHRING’S STRAITS, &c.

The natives on both sides of Behring’s Straits are
accustomed to fish herrings in summer with the seine-net,
but a novel method is practised on the River Kovima in
winter. The natives place branches or osiers nearly across
that river in such a manner.as to prevent the herrings
passing, but openings are left for weirs and nets to encircle
and take the herrings.

CHAPTER II.
DIFFERENT MODES OF CURING.

1. SCOTTISH MODE.

1. Measuring, &c.—The herrings being brought in the
boats near the quay, or curing-place, as already stated,
are lifted with wooden shovels into a wooden measure
without a bottom, called a cran (which measure is branded
by the fishery officer, and must contain thirty-six gal-
lons). The cran is previously placed on the cart, or
place where the herrings are to be delivered, and upon
lifting up the measure, the same having no bottom, the
herrings are thereby emptied out of it, without the trouble
of tumbling them out; or they are measured in wicker-
baskets of a legal size. The herrings are then conveyed
to the curing-yard or shed, and are placed in square pits
or in heaps.

Salted or White Herrings.—They are gutted (generally
now in Scotland) with a knife, by taking out the gills
and stomach; and those who cure in imitation of the Dutch,
leave the appendices cect, or crown gut, as itis considered
to impart a richer flavour to the herring; they are then
roosed (sprinkled with salt), and thereafter those em-
ployed in packing put a quantity of salt in the bottom of
the barrel, and a layer of herrings is then closely laid
together on their sides (if in imitation of the Dutch,
nearly on their backs); and alternately a portion of salt
and a layer of herrings, until the barrel is properly packed.

112 DIFFERENT MODES OF CURING THE HERRING.

After remaining three or four days, the barrel is again
opened, when the herrings are found floating in pickle ;
the superabundant pickle is taken out or poured off, and
an additional quantity of herrings of the same day’s fish-
ing, to fill up the cask, is packed in; a quantity of salt is
then laid on the top of all, and the barrel is headed up,
and it is then ready for branding. According to the exist-
ing British fishery laws, such barrels must be marked
in the proper manner, to show the month and day the
herrings were taken, cured, and packed, and the mode of
gutting, and the year, as well as the name and residence
of the curer. The following letters denote the different
months:—JN for June, JL for July, AV for August,
S for September, O for October, N for November, D for
December, JY for January, F for February, MR for
March, AP for April, MY for May. They must be
Roman letters, and scratched on the sides of the barrels
with a marking iron, as also the day of the month; all
which must be done in a distinct, legible, and permanent
manner, and every letter or figure shall not be less than
two inches in length; if not scratched, the same may be
painted black, but this is never done. The mark to de-
note that the herrings contained in any barrel were gutted
with a knife, and packed within twenty-four hours after
being taken, must be three Roman letters, viz., G BK;
if gutted with the finger, G BF; and the mark to de-
note that the herrings contained in any barrel were gutted
and packed, no¢ within twenty-four hours after being taken,
shall be G.; and the mark of cured ungutted shall be
U. ;—which marks shall also be scratched on the sides of
the barrels with a marking-iron, or painted black, and not
less than two inches in length. The name and residence of
the curer, and the year when the herrings were cured, must

DIFFERENT MODES OF CURING THE HERRING. 113

be branded with a branding-iron in legible and permanent
characters on one or more side-staves of each barrel (48
Geo. III. cap. 110; 55 Geo. IV. cap. 94).

Barrels.—Kach herring- barrel must not be smaller than
32 gallons old wine measure, or 27 imperial gallons, and
half-barrels may be used, if of legal size. The cask may
be of any kind of wood, fir excepted.

Heads.—The heads or ends must be in pieces, not ex-
ceeding 8 inches in breadth, and when the herrings are
barrelled up, the head must be supplied with a flag or
bulrush round the ears or edges; but tow or flax is not
objected to as a substitute.

Hoops.—If the herrings are intended for home <son-
sumption, or exportation to any place in Europe, the
casks are full bound at one end, and there are generally
three at the bilge and four at the tops. If the herrings
are intended for exportation to places out of Europe, the
casks must be full bound at both ends, and have, besides,
two iron hoops, one at each end.

Dunting.— A dunt or dant is a round solid piece of
wood of nearly the size of the head. Dunting is the
placing of this on the top of the herrings in the barrel
after being repacked, and by jumping, or standing on it
the herrings are pressed down.

Blowing.—After the barrel is packed and headed up,
there must be a hole bored in the head of sufficient size
to enable the cooper to ascertain by blowing into it,
whether the cask is air-tight or not; this is ascertained
by observing if any air escapes, and the crevices or open-
ings, if any, must be filled up or tightened.

Branding.—There ought to be 235 lb. of herrings
washed free of salt and pickle, if intended for home con-

sumption, in each cask ; 224 lb. for the European markets.
H

114 DIFFERENT MODES OF CURING THE HERRING.

and 212 lb. for places out of Europe. Before any cask
of herrings can be branded with the crown brand, they
must lie ten free days in the cask; the day of their
having been packed and barrelled, and the day they are
presented for the brand, not being counted. MHerrings
for places out of Europe, or for the West Indies, must be
repacked ; they must not be packed with the original
pickle and salt, but must be washed and then repacked
with fresh pickle and salt. The Appendices cect, or
crown-gut, although always recommended by the officers
to be allowed to remain for the home and European
markets, is taken off if intended for the West Indies or
places out of Europe. Ifthe herrings are assorted, namely,
the full herrings (herrings full of milt and roe) separated
from matjes (herrings with the milt and roe of a small
size), and these separated from “‘ylen,” empty or shotten
herrings, the fishery officer has authority to apply a brand
with the word ‘“ FuLu” to the first, and the word
“waties’ to the second description (the last word
ought to be spelled, being a Dutch word, “ matjes”) in
addition to the crown brand.

Salt.—The fishery officer does not insist upon any
particular quantity or quality of salt being used, but he
is entitled to see that there is a sufficient quantity applied
for the preservation of the fish.

Brands.—There is a crown-brand of a particular form
which must be applied to all crans (the measure for fresh
fish) before they can be used. There is the regular
crown brand for properly cured herrings; there are two
brands, FULL and maTIES, as before mentioned. There is
a diamond-shaped brand for surplus herrings repacked
for the West Indies, or places out of Europe, having the
letters P P, and there is a brand in the form of a star,

DIFFERENT MODES OF CURING THE HERRING. 11d

which is applied along with the crown brand when the
letter has been put on contrary to the opinion of the
officer, but allowed because decided in favour of the cures
by arbiters mutually chosen.

The officers recommend the curers to lay the herrings,
when packed in the barrel, on their backs, when intended
for the home or European markets, and those intended
for Ireland to be laid upon their sides.

From the judicious regulations of the Fishery Board)
and the careful superintendence of the officers, who are
practical men, the Scottish herrings furnished with the
official brands, which are a guarantee of their quality,
have, as already stated, attained a high character in the
continental markets, and successfully compete with the
Dutch; £20 to £50 per barrel being sometimes obtained
for the first supplies in the continental ports.

P 2, DUTCH MODE.

Shaking out.—The herrings are shaken from the nets
immediately when taken out of the sea, and put into tubs or
baskets.

Gutting—The Dutch use a knife for gutting with a
longer handle and sharper pointed blade than ours; they
insert the knife into the neck between the gills and bone,
and then, by turning the knife, bring away the gills and
stomach, leaving the crown-gut or Appendices ccect.

Assorting—They throw the herrings, when gutted,
according to the different descriptions of “ full,” “ matjes,”
and “ylen,” into different tubs or baskets.

Packing.—They are then sprinkled or roosed with salt,
and the packers immediately commence packing them into

116 DIFFERENT MODES OF CURING THE HERRING.

barrels, taking care to keep the different descriptions
mentioned separate.

Salt.—First, a due proportion of salt is laid in the
bottom of the barrel, then a layer of herrings on their
backs, the head of the one to the tail of the other; this
layer is sprinkled with salt, the subsequent layer is laid
across the first, and so on alternately, sprinkling each
layer with salt, and a larger proportion of salt on the top;
the barrel being thus filled, is then headed up. Due
attention is paid as to the quantity of salt necessary,
which is regulated by the size and quality of the fish; but
not less than four barrels of salt must be used in pickling
“the last” or fourteen barrels of herrings. (Dutch Fishery
Laws, Art. 16.) The herrings cured before St James’
or St Jacobi’s day, the 25th of July, must only be cured
with Spanish or Portuguese salt, and these are named
herrings of the large salt ; and the full herrings, after
that date, must be cured with Dutch-made small salt,
and these are named herrings of the fine salt.

Blowing.—Into the ends of the casks héles are bored
after they are headed up, the cooper ascertaining by blow-
ing into the hole whether the cask is air-tight, and_re-
medies with rushes or tow any defect in the heads or
staves.

Marking.—The master or packer must mark the date
when the herrings were taken between the neck and
belly hoops, under a penalty; and if unable to pay the
penalty, he is liable to imprisonment.

Cured in Time.—Each day’s fishing shall be cured and
kept separately, and those herrings not gutted and packed
the day they are taken must be thrown overboard, or packed
as inferior or wrack herrings, under the penalty of twenty-
five guilders for each barrel. In opening the casks and

DIFFERENT MODES OF CURING THE HERRING. EL

filling up, particular care is taken of the surplus liquid
or pickle. It is carefully poured off and barrelled, and
the pickle of each day’s take is only applied, when neces-
sary, to the herrings originally packed on such day.

Oil.— When the oil appears on the top, on opening the
barrels, it is immediately skimmed off, as the herrings would
be injured if it@were retained in the barrels for any length
of time. When exporting, the herrings are examined by
the inspectors, who have the power of seizing the barrels
and herrings, or fining the owners, masters, or coopers, if
not properly assorted.

Inspection.—No barrelled herrings can be offered for
sale until examined by the inspector, and branded with
the name and arms of the place at which they were
imported. The provincial states are authorised to fix
the nature of the marks, to distinguish the year and the
quality.

The inspector may inspect each barrel twice, and must
take out, and examine to the bottom, at least two barrels
in each lot of fourteen barrels.

The penalty on the master of the buss for not properly
curing and assorting the herrings is 300 guilders, and his
licence to fish may be withheld; and if not properly
packed or placed in the barrels, the penalty is six guilders
per barrel; and if any inferior herrings are found in the
barrels, the purchaser shall not be bound to pay for any
other than the inferior quality.

Barrels.—The barrel contains about thirty-six O. W.
gallons, or about one-eighth part more than ours. Lé musé
be made of new good oak only, and have not less than
thirteen staves, and the proper kind and number of hoops ;
the ends must not have more than three pieces. The
cooper is liable to a penalty if he present defective barrels

118 DIFFERENT MODES OF CURING THE HERRING.

to the inspector for branding; and if any herrings are
packed in old or insufficient casks, or if the barrels have
not been examined and branded by the inspector, the
herrings shall be seized, and a penalty exacted for each
stave defective. Moreover, the barrel-inspector is liable
to punishment if he willingly passes any defective barrels.

Hoops.—The hoops must be whole barael hoops, of the
proper quality of red hoops, being of a particular kind of
willow grown in Holland, called the Dutch willow, a
variety of Salix alba, with a brownish bark. No barrel
shall be exported having fewer than fourteen hoops, and
the herrings caught after St Jacobi’s day must have six-
teen hoops. Each barrel of herrings, as they are cured,
must be marked by the coopers or packers, and on the
inside with their private mark, under the inspection of
the master.

Marks and Brands.— When the herrings are produced
to the inspector (bracker or keurmester), he compares the
marks of the quality with the stock, and upon the end
of the barrel sees cut with a marking-iron the distinctive
marks of the quality.

The fine salt herrings, before they can be repacked or
branded, must be two days in pickle after they are taken,
under a penalty. The small salt-wrack herrings, being
full herrings of inferior quality, must be also branded
with distinct marks, indicative of the quality and time
of cure, besides the provincial or local brands.

Merchants must not send herrings away, either for
home consumption or exportation, without applying their
customary mark to the barrels, which mark they must
previously communicate to the secretary at the place of
their residence, so that the same may be registered.

No herrings can be branded with the large or Rouen

DIFFERENT MODES OF CURING THE HERRING. 119

brand, excepting good cured cross herrings. The her-
rings sent to the Elbe and Weser must be well cured,
and repacked from fourteen barrels into twelve barrels ;
provided, that in so repacking them into this quantity,
the herrings are not injured; otherwise no such herrings
can be sent to the above places. Herrings repacked from
fourteen or twelve barrels, shall be branded with the large
branding-iron, but those repacked from fourteen to thir-
teen barrels, with only the date-iron.

Having carefully observed the system of curing prac-
tised by the Dutch, both on our own coasts and else-
where, I have here endeavoured, as minutely as possible,
to describe their whole process; and it may be stated,
that the curing the herrings, as soon as caught, with
superior salt, in oak casks, may be the cause of the Dutch
herrings having obtained such a high character.

CHAPTER ITI.
CURING OR PREPARING SMOKED OR RED HERRINGS.

Herrines intended to be cured red or smoked, as soon
as possible after having been taken out of the nets, and
measured, are salted into barrels with a due proportion of
Liverpool fishery salt, or Lisbon salt. The latter salt is
preferable.

If the herrings are to be made into ‘ keeping reds,”
they remain in the barrels in the salt and pickle two or
three days; then put on the spits, round pieces of wood
prepared for the purpose, capable of supporting about
twenty herrings on each, the spits being put through the
mouth and gills ; then, in large square tubs or water-tight
boxes, the spitted herrings are washed by being repeatedly
plunged in the cold water. These tubs or boxes are of
the requisite width to admit of the two ends of the spits
to rest on each side. Before being spitted, if the her-
rings have been a long time in salt, they are laid loose in
the cold water, which is repeatedly emptied, and renewed
with fresh water. They are then taken out of the steep-
ing tubs, and hung up on thé spits to dry in the open air,
if the weather is favourable, or in the herring-house, be-
fore the fire is applied, for a whole day.

When sufficiently dried, the herrings on the spits are
suspended in rows in the smoking-house, which isepro-
perly fitted up with beams, so that the whole may receive
a due and equal proportion of the smoking process.

CURING OR PREPARING SMOKED OR RED HERRINGS. 121

The smoking process is best effected by fires of oak
billets placed at intervals on the floor of the herring-
house.

Those herrings which are prepared for home consump-
tion are subjected to the smoking process ten or twelve
days.

Those herrings which are intended for exportation un-
dergo slower processes. The extent of the heat is regu-
lated with a view to the colour of the fish most suitable
for the different markets, the time occupied in smoking
the herrings intended for exportation being from fourteen
to twenty-one days. When it is wished to give the her-
rings a bright yellow colour, the smoke of burning oak
sawdust is applied after the first smoking process.

After this the fires are taken off, and the herrings
allowed to receive a sufficient time to cool before being
packed into barrels.

Bloaters are those herrings which are cured and smoked
for immediate use by a rapid process, which consists of
putting the herrings, immediately after being landed, into
a very strong pickle of salt six or eight hours. They are
then spitted and washed, and put up in the smoking
house with slight fires, which had been previously burn-
ing for some time, and consequently yielding only a small
portion of smoke. The time they are thus suspended
varies from six to ten hours, and they are thereafter
cooled, packed, and ready for sale.

Kippered herrings, after undergoing the process of
being partially salted in pickle, are also cut open and
slightly smoked, and in this way afford a very pleasant
change of food. The superior description of herrings
fished at Loch Fyne and other localities on the west coast
are much esteemed when prepared in this manner.

122 CURING OR PREPARING SMOKED OR RED HERRINGS.

The trade in smoked or red herrings was formerly much
more considerable than it now is. At almost all the
principal fishing stations large buildings were erected for
the purpose; but, excepting at Yarmouth, the trade has
diminished considerably. This may be attributed to there
being no legislative enactments applied to the curing and
preparation of red herrings, in the same manner as applied
to the curing of British white herrings. The consequence
has been, that the purchaser can have no confidence in
the quality of the herrings nor in the size of the barrels,
and therefore merchants at home and abroad do not pur-
chase cargoes as merchandise, and the curers, as is the
practice at Yarmouth, must send the red herrings not used
in this country to foreign countries for sale on their own
account.

In explanation of the preceding remarks, we have to
quote an extract of a letter from a house which had ven-
tured to purchase a cargo of herrings, to prove that neither
respectable names, nor even a judicious selecter can gua-
rantee the merchant who buys that the article intended
to be bought has been purchased :-—

“We think it fair to admit that we are thoroughly per-
suaded, although we are strong advocates for free trade
when it can be properly carried out, that the curing and
preparing of herrings is of such a complicated nature,
that, without the superintendence and care of the fishery
officer, mercantile transactions could not be carried on
safely to any considerable extent, and we shall give you an
exact account of our dear-bought experience to prove this.

“ We sent one of our fast-sailing coppered schooners
to one of the principal places for red herrings, to load a
cargo purchased by us. One of ourselves went and ex-
amined the different kinds of red herrings for sale in the

CURING OR PREPARING SMOKED OR RED HERRINGS. 123

hands of the most respectable curers. He saw several,
many casks opened, and thought he had bought the quality
necessary; but, ‘to make assurance doubly sure,’ we en-
gaged two of the leading agents at two neighbouring ports
to examine the parcels purchased at shipment, so that
error or fraud might be prevented.

“The captain, a most intelligent man, was also ac-
quainted with the qualities of red herrings, and to him we
confided the shipment for sale. He went to sell his her-
rings, and when he began to deliver them to the buyers,
it was found that the barrels generally contained a better
kind on the top; that refuse qualities were in the middle;
and although we bought the whole cargo as well-packed
barrels of full herrings, the barrels, when emptied out by
the buyers, were found to be very inferior, to our serious
loss,—namely, part of the herrings were not properly cured,
and part of them were empty or ‘ shotten’ herrings. From
that time we resolved neither to buy red herrings for our-
selves, nor to take the responsibility to buy them for our
correspondents abroad, and we do not now know any one
who would do so who knows the trade. We attribute the
inferiority of the quality partly to the reckless conduct of
the servants of these curers, who were considered honest
men, and partly to the dishonesty of some of the curers,
who really sold a fraudulent article ; and until the fishery
laws are extended to the curing of red herrings, we do not
think this trade will flourish.”

We think it right to quote this letter, and to remark,
that if such difficulties arise as to making red herrings
a staple article, which can be, comparatively speaking,
easily examined in the casks, how much more difficult
it would be, if our British white herring trade (the barrels
with the herrings lying in salt and pickle), were left to

124 MODE OF CURING SARDINES IN FRANCE.

the frauds, blunders, and ignorance of curers. We admit
that the name of the honest curer might go far to secure
quality in some cases, but there are so many circumstances
connected with curing herrings, that we do not know any
security sufficiently strong in the most honest curer that
would guarantee to the buyer that perfection of quality
that is obtainable by our fishery laws.

MODE OF CURING SARDINES IN FRANCE.

Although we have proved that the sprat or garvie is a
distinct fish from the young herring, still, as some con-
sider it is the young of the herring, and as some young
herrings may be used in making sardines, we do not
hesitate to give an account of the mode of curing it on
the French coast, under the name of sardine, as it be-
comes, under the judicious and careful management of the
industrious inhabitants of the French sea coasts, one of
the most useful and wholesome of the productions of the
sea.

Many of the inhabitants of this country are ignorant
that at the principal locality where the sprat is fished on
the coasts of Brittany, 2500 beats of 9500 tons, manned by
11,000 mariners, are employed in this fishery; that each
boat expends on an average fifteen barrels of the roe of
the cod and mackerel, thrown into the sea for the purpose
of attracting the fish to the nets, at an expense of about
£2 per barrel of 24 cwt.; and that the roes, cured in salt,
are principally imported from Norway, at an expense of
about £80,000 annually. This roe is considered indispens-
able ; as various substitutes have been used to attract
the fish to the nets, but unsuccessfully.

We could have given many interesting statistical de-

MODE OF CURING SARDINES IN FRANCE, 125

tails of this interesting French national fishery, but our
object is to point out to the British public an example
which might be successfully followed, as to the furnishing
an additional supply of wholesome food both for home
consumption and exportation. Large quantities are, of
course, sold fresh, and transmitted by rail and road to the
interior in this country, but the mode of curing has been
entirely neglected, excepting small quantities that are
smoked, and which are by no means very palatable.

There are two methods of curing the sprat or sardine
in France. The first is that of packing them into barrels.

Barrelled loose.—The sprats are first washed and cleaned
in the sea, they are then roosed and mixed with a due
proportion of salt, and are packed into barrels with a pro-
portion of salt between each layer; in this state they may
be sent out for sale.

Pressed barrels—The system of pressure is by some
adopted, in this case, after the sprats have sufficiently
imbibed the salt in the barrel, they are taken out and again
washed in their pickle, and repacked in a circular manner
in the barrel; and, the barrel being filled, on the top is
placed strong paper or fig leaves, and above all, a dunt or
dant, a piece of round wood nearly the size of the top of
the barrel, in which are pieces of wood to secure the beam
or bar which is applied for pressing the fish close down
into the casks, when the pickle and oil run out into a ma-
chine called a tineaw; when the pressure has reduced the
space occupied by the fish, the barrel is again filled up to
the top with more fish, and the cask headed up. Brittany
cured in 1853, 218,076,400 sprats, which required 3800
tons of salt, and calculating each barrel as containing
3000 sprats, the number of barrels cured must have been
72,992, and the fish cured yielded, from the pressure,

126 FRENCH MODE OF CURING SARDINES IN OIL.

about six pounds weight of oil per barrel, worth 1s. 8d.
per lb., or oil to the value of £35,000, 3s.

FRENCH MODE OF CURING SARDINES (OR SPRATS) IN OIL.

We now come to the second and more delicate mode of
preparation, the curing the sprats in tin boxes with oil,—
a mode which furnishes a delicious and wholesome food,
suitable for transportation to any climate. The sprats are
carefully washed in the sea and then carried to the curing
place, where they are slightly sprinkled with pure fine
white salt ; after remaining thus a few hours, women are
employed to take off the head, which brings away the
gills, &c., and after again well washing, they are laid out
either on willow branches or wire work, and exposed to
the sun and wind, or to a current of air, under cover, if the
weather is damp or rainy. This drying gives clearness
and pureness to the skin. They are then put into boiling
oil; after being the requisite time in this oil, they are
drained as much as possible, and then put into tin boxes.
When the boxes are filled they are carried to tables pre-
pared for the purpose and covered with oil; the tinsmith
then takes the boxes and solders on the cover; the boxes
are then placed in the boiler, or exposed to hot steam, to
undergo the process of ebullition for such time as the
curer considers necessary.

After being taken out, the boxes are pclae and
those rejected which have leaked, or not resisted the
pressure of boiling.

Generally speaking, all the boxes that are not convex
on the two sides, when taken out of the heating process,
are bad, but the reverse is the case if the swelling in con-
vexity continues after the boxes have become cold.

NORWEGIAN MODE OF CURING SPRATS. LF

The heads and debris are much valued, and sold for
agricultural purposes.

There are about forty establishments which prepare the
sardines with oil in tin boxes, and the quantity prepared
is about ten million boxes annually. We have been thus
particular as to the mode of preparation, because the
advantage of preparing the boxes for home consump-
tion and exportation must be obvious. Large quantities
are prepared for Australia and California, and in 1853
the quantity exported from France amounted to about
4,000,000 pounds weight.

In Norway as Anchovies.—In Norway considerable
quantities of the sprat (brisling) and young herrings are
salted and preserved with spices in little kegs. They are
first steeped in a strong pickle of Spanish or Lisbon salt,
and thereafter packed into the kegs, which are carefully
made tight, and thus prepared form a very agreeable food,
and are generally eaten in this state raw without any
other preparation.

Smoked Sprats.—Cousiderable quantities of the sprats or
garvies are sometimes smoked in this country, but as the
labour is considerable in smoking such a small fish, it is
only when they are very cheap that the using this process
can be made to be profitable. The mode of curing or prepar-
ing the sprats is by steeping them in strong salt pickle for
ten or twelve hours, and thereafter spitting them and
smoking them with fires of oak for eight or ten days, and
when cool they are packed into small kits or barrels.

Of course, there are various other modes of curing her-
rings which may occur to the reader—such as preserving
them in tin boxes for exportation, either with or without
oil; and there are other methods of smoking, which have
not been entered into; but it is hoped that sufficient has

128 OTHER MODES OF CURING HERRINGS.

been stated to exhibit to the non-practical reader some of
the various preparations employed.

One mode of curing has not been referred to—namely,
that of curing herrings without the application of either
saltor smoke. It may be difficult to do this in hot weather,
unless, perhaps, by repeatedly dipping the fish in sea
water; but in winter we have tried the experiment, and
find that fresh herrings cut open and exposed to the air
acquire a firmness which renders them fit for keeping for
a considerable length of time, a practice which was pro-
bably in use among our ancestors before the process of
manufacturing salt was discovered.

BO OU» LIT.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING
FISHERY.

CHAPTER f.

Amone the savage nations of the present time we find
that fish generally forms part of their ordinary food, and
this even where the fruits of the earth are abundant; we
may therefore conclude that, in the northern countries,
the natives on the sea-shores, in ancient times, must have
lived, to a great extent, on fish. Solinus, who wrote
about the year 240, says of the inhabitants of the Heb-
rides, “ They do not know the cultivating of grain, and
live much on fish and milk.”*

The deep bays surrounded by lofty recks, the numerous
arms of the sea, and the rivers sheltered from the storms,
must have afforded our savage ancestors their natural
food, and enabled them to supply themselves in com-
parative safety. That, in the most ancient times, our
forefathers were accustomed to navigate at least their own
rivers, is proved from the circumstance of many boats or
canoes having been dug up in various parts of this island,
and some such have been dug up on the banks of the
Clyde. Pinkerton tells us of a boat, 36 feet in length and
43 feet in breadth, having been found near the Carron in

* “ Hebrides quinque numero, quarum incole nesciunt fruges, piscibus
tantum et lacte vivunt.”— Solin. Polyb., c. 25. Paris, 1508.
I

130 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING- FISHERY.

1726, “under several strata of earth and fossils, made up
of one entire piece of oak, and well polished.”* But, had
the ancient inhabitants even been without boats, we have
at the present day two curious proofs that they might have
supplied themselves without their aid with fishes from
the sea,—namely, in the cruives,} or osier baskets, sunk
in the rivers or arms of the sea, as at present practised
near Culross, in the Forth, and at Menai Bridge, and the
twisted branches or osiers and stone yairs as used at Loch-
broom, and other localities to secure the herrings.

How long herrings were used merely by the inhabi-
tants adjoining the lochs and seas where they were caught,
and when they became an article of commerce, it is diffi-
cult to determine, although it is quite possible that, in
ancient times, herrings may have been exported in a
dried or smoked state without being salted, yet it is most
probable that, until salt was used, the commerce in her-
rings was inconsiderable ; it is worthy of remark, however,
that herrings are easily preserved without salt by expo-
sure to the air after being opened, and that the practice
is still prevalent in some parts of the North Highlands.
Anderson, in his “ History of Commerce,” says that the
Netherlanders came to Scotland to buy fish in the ninth
century; his words are—‘‘Some writers speak of the
Netherlanders resorting to Scotland as early as about the
year 836, for the buying of salted fish, of the Scottish
fishermen, which they then carried home merely for the
sustenance of their people, whereby the Scotch were
greatly enriched.” { It is to be regretted that this author
does not give his authorities for this statement; and
although he does not even mention herrings, yet several

* Pinkerton’s History of Scotland. t German Korb, basket.
t Anderson’s History of Commerce, p. 41.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 131

writers on the herring-fishery assume this statement as
proving the early period of the herring-fishery.

In the absence of any immediate authority of so
early a date as to Scotland, we have analogous data as
to the herring-fishery in England,—namely, at Great
Yarmouth. Swinden, in his “ History and Antiquities
of Great Yarmouth,’* supposes that the herring-fishery
commenced there soon after the landing of Cedric the
Saxon, in 495; and states that the Church of St
Bennet was built upon the Greenhill, “and a godly man
placed in it, to pray for the health and success of the
fishermen that came to fish at Yarmouth in the herring
season,” and that it was supposed to have been built by
Felix I., Bishop of the East Angles, in 647, and that
afterwards a church, dedicated to St Nicholas, the patron
of fishermen, was built upon the Greenhill; and that
valuable antiquarian work ‘‘ Doomsday Book ” (a survey of
England made in the twentieth year of the reign of William
the Conqueror, in 1086) mentions Yarmouth as contain-
ing seventy burgesses, and notices Garteston, an adjacent
place, as having “three salt pans,” and twenty-four fisher-
men in Yarmouth belonging to this village.

And Laing, in his valuable book on Norway, quoting
from the “ Saga of St Olav,” written about the tenth cen-
tury, says that Sigurd Sir enabled his “treelle” (slaves,
thralls, or bondsmen) to purchase their freedom by lending
them what was necessary for the fishing of herrings. t

The following extract from Olaf Trygevesin’s “ Saga”
also proves that, previous to his time, the Norwegians were
engaged in the herring fishery,—namely, near the end
of Hakon Adelsteensfostre’s reign, about the year 952 :—

* Swinden, pp. 8, 10, 12, 13, 16, 20. { Laing’s Norway, p. 870.
12

132 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

‘When they came to the coast they gave themselves
out to be poor children, and as they went forward they
came to a herring-boat, which had come up from Vaagar,
and was going to the south, they engaged themselves with
it, and by that means had an opportunity of getting
southward. When theycame to Soguse they said that they
were going into the Frith, as they had friends there,” &c.

In the reign of Harold Graveld (960 to 975) the Nor-
wegians fished herrings with large nets from Bohusland,
a district near Christiania, to Finmark ; and in the reign
of Hacon Jarl (988 to 993) there was such an abundance
that all the maritime districts of Norway ‘ were filled
with them.” *

If we thus find the English and Norsemen so early
engaged in the herring-fishery, the date mentioned by
Anderson is perhaps near the time when the herring-
fishery began to be an object of importance to the natives
of Scotland.

But that herrings were an article of commerce and of
food very early in Scotland is proved by King David the
First’st Charter to the Abbey of- Holyrood (1188), in
which there is, among the other endowments granted,
the right to fish herrings at Renfrew, the words being,
“ Kt ibi Renfry (or Renfrew), piscari ad allechtia libere”+

The earliest mention made of herrings by the Par-
lamentary Records of Scotland is in 1240, the following
being the words: “Burghe tallys of a last of Herring
IIIIp, dry herring at ye further passing 1p, of a thousande
herring an thai be lade on a hors. 1p, for ilk birding for
ye stalling of the marcat. 1p }p: Item fora last of fresche
hering IIIIp, and gif thai be lade throu ye byar yat byis

* Heims Kringla, 186. { Maitland’s History of Edinburgh, p. 145.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 133

thame, bot gif yai be lede to ye havyne with ye fischar,
he sall gif naithing for ye hering bot for his set.” *

The word “dry” almost imphes that the herrings were
dried for sale, and not smoked ; if the herrings had been
salted, the packages or barrels would likely have been
mentioned, or subjected to a toll or tax.

We have sufficient evidence to show that herrings were
early an article of commerce in various other parts of
Europe, some of which we shall now specify.

In Lumfiord (or Limphjor, in ancient acts) in Denmark,
a constant fishing of herrings existed twice a year for
many centuries;f and mention is made of the inhabitants
carrying on commerce with Bremen for salt in 1054.

A glowing description is given of the prosperity of
Denmark, in consequence of the herring-fishery, by
an ancient writer. He says: ‘ The Danes, formerly
clad lke simple seamen, are now clad in scarlet and
purple, and every nation carries them abundance of gold
and silver in exchange for their herrings.”{

The Danish Sound, and upwards as far as Falsterbo,
seems to have been long, in ancient times, a place greatly
resorted to by fishermen of various nations.§ The
earliest notice known of the fishery at the Sound appears
in the “ Knytlinga Saga;”|| by it we are told that great
quantities were caught there in the fall of the year 1080.
We have also an account of the fishery in that quarter,
from a work in 13882, by a French traveller, who ad-
dressed his book to Charles VI., and who states that, on
the sea “ between the kingdoms of Denmark and Norway,

* Parliamentary Records of Scotland, Burghe Tallys, 1240.
t Gheymser Comp. Hist. Dan, apud Langebeck, ii. 288.

¢ Arnoldus de Lubeck, Chron, Slay. i. cap. iii. v. 121.

? Dan. Rig, Chron., 165, || Page 57.

134 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

during two months of the year,—namely, September and
October,—there are 40,000 vessels, each having at least
six persons to fish, besides 500 vessels for gutting and
packing, and that there are more than 300,000 men who
do nothing but fish herrings.”*

In 1124 we read that herrings were so abundant on
the coasts of Pomerania that a horse load was given for
one ore, a coin of about the value of three farthings.f

In the years 1242 and 1348 the herring-fishery on the
coast of Denmark occasioned two long and bloody wars be-
tween Denmark and the Hanse towns,—the latter, with
Lubeck at their head, generally obtaining the superiority.

The Hollanders commenced fishing herrings in the
Meuse in the year 1163.

Some writers§ state that William Beukelz or Beukelsen,
born at Biervliet, in Brabant, was the first person who
invented the art of salting or pickling herrings. The
historians differ as to the time and place of his birth;
some say that he was born at Biervliet, others at Hn-
chuysen ; some that he was born in 1847, others in 1897.

It is not difficult to prove, however, that herrings were
salted long before that period ; for besides the instances
already given, we find that a law was made at Niew-
Port exempting salt herrings from paying duty on account
of the salt and barrels used in pickling, long previous to
Beukelsen’s pretended invention. ||

Professor Valenciennes, in his edition of Cuvier’s
“Hist. Nat. du Poissons,” vol. xx. p. 112, says, “ that the
earliest notice discovered in France regarding the her-

* Philip de Mazieres, Vecil Pelerin. t Vita Sancta Ottonis, p. 78.

{ Kronik. van Holland, i. 184.

§ Schoockins, Belg. fad. lib. viii. chap. ii. 221, and Pontanus Discuss,
Hist., 74.

|| Placaat von Flaud, vi. 429.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 135

ring is in 1080, in the Charter of the Abbey of St Catherine,
situated near Rouen, where it is stated that certain salt-
works near Dieppe were to pay to that abbey five mil-
liers of herrings ; and in 1088, Robert, Duke of Normandy,
by charter to the Abbey of La Sante Trinite at Fecamp,
gave permission to hold a fair one day during the con-
tinuation of the herring-fishery; and Louis VII. of
France, in 1155, prohibited his subjects from buying any--
thing in the town of Hstampes but mackarel and salted
herrings.”*

Philip II., King of the Romans, expressly mentions,
in a charter granted to the town of Liege, dated 1187,
the privilege of buying and selling fresh and salted her-
rings.t

It is clear, therefore, that if Beukelsen had any merit as
an inventor, it must have been in the introduction of the
practice of gutting them; in corroboration of this sup-
position, the ‘ Kronikel van Holland” says, “ This year
(1163) they commenced fishing herring in the Meuse,
and the first fishery was established at the Brielle. The
fishermen of Zurick Zee were the first to fish them and
pack them in barrels; and those of Biervliet were
the first who invented the better method of preserving
them salted, by gutting and taking out those parts of
the herring which before caused them to spoil much
sooner.

On the coasts of Lower Germany, in the Baltic, it is
stated, that in the year 1236, the people caught such
great quantities that they then extracted oil from herrings
by boiling them.§

* Ord, des Rois de France.
+ Louvrex Recueil des edits et privileges du pays de Liege, ii. 234.
+ Kronik, van. Holland, i. 184. § Peringskiold Monum. Uller, 89.

136 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

By information obtained from different authorities we
learn that the Prussians had commenced fishing herrings
on their coast in 1259.*

In 1108 Henry I. erected Yarmouth into a burgh, the
annual payment for this privilege being “ten milliers of
herrings ;*} and in 1199, King John erected Dunwick
in Norfolk into a free burgh on payment of L.120, one
‘mark of silver, and 2400 herrmgs annually.

The Book of Meaux states, that in the year 1240, Wil-
liam de Fortibus, Earl of Albemarle, granted to the monks
of Meaux half-an-acre of land in the borough of Odd (in
burgode Odde juxta Bavenser) for the erection of store-
houses for their herrings and other fish.§

So early as the time of Edward the First, 1270 (Long-
shanks), the herring fair at Yarmouth was held forty days,
at which the Barons of the Cinque Ports had deputies for
the purpose of keeping the peace.

The following is an extract of the dite or edict by Ed-
ward I. for the government of the fair in 1277: “ Et
aussi voillouns que ceux de la vile de Gernemue voydent
den et stronde, des voilles nyefs et de meryne, la ou ils
deynont ariver et leur reitz seecher, ce ces nest des-
nyefs que sonnt en fesaunt et mastes sur que on les peut
secher,’—namely, ‘‘ Aud also we will, that they of the
city of Yarmouth void den and strand of old ships and
timber, where they should arrive and dry their nets, so
that it be not of ships which are in building, and masts
for drying.” ||

We learn from Blowit’s “ Fragmenta Antiquitatis,” that
herrings were early a royal dish in England, for in 1286

* Noel, de la Moriniere. t Thorkelin, Diplom. Adv. Magn. ii. 155.
{ Anderson’s Hist. of Commerce, vol. i. 98. § Lib. Melse, fol. 135.
| Swinden’s History and Antiquities of Great Yarmouth, 184, 194.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 137

Edward I. granted a charter for land at Carleton, in Nor-
folk, by the service of twenty-four pasties of fresh her-
rings at their first coming in.”*

In the inquest of 18 Ed. I. (Longshanks) (1291) the
people of Grimsby complained to the king that the trade
at Grimsby had fallen into decay in consequence of the
inhabitants of Odde forestalling them in their supply of
herrings, by representing to the fishermen that the her-
rings which were actually selling at Grimsby for forty
shillings per last, were not selling for more than twenty
shillings per last.

We are also informed that the foreigners who came to
Yarmouth only came to buy herrings. In regard to fishing,
special permission had to be obtained; and, accordingly,
it is recorded that King Edward, on 28th September 1295,
gave permission to the Dutch to come to Yarmouth to fish
herrings ;{f and we find that in the year 1294, only after
special application, Eric, King of Norway, admitted the
English to the same privileges in going to Norway for
herrings as were enjoyed by the natives of the Hanse
towns ; but this favour having been abused, was subse-
quently recalled, as we shall find stated.§

In the year 1302, by royal edict, the town of Yarmouth
was ordered to furnish ten lasts of herrings for the use of
the king, or “in usum principis.” ||.

At a very early period the town of Yarmouth supplied
many of the religious houses in England with herrings.
The following are extracts of one of the charters,—viz.
In the roll of 384 Ed. I. of ‘‘ Essendi quietum de Tolonia,”

* Blowit’s Fragmenta Antiquitatis.
t Frost’s Notices of the Early Hist. of Hull; Note, p. 65.
{ Yair’s Account of the Scotch Trade in the Netherlands, p, 13.

2 Thorklin, Diplom. Adr. Magn. ii. 155.
} 81 Ed. i. 1302. Swinden, i. 84.

138 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

to the bailiffs of, Yarmouth in the year 1305, concerning

the charters of Croyland.

In the time of Yarmouth Fair,
in the 34th year of the reign of
King Edward, son of King Henry,
William de Ketene, monk of Saint
Faith, and Reginald de Burgh of
St Peter, brought to the bailiffs of
Yarmouth a writ of the lord the
king in these words :—

Edward, by the grace of God,
King of England, Lord of Ireland,
to his bailiffs of Great Yarmouth,
greeting, &e.

Witness myself at Newburgh in
Tyndale the 30th August in the
34th year of our reign.

By authority of which writ, the
aforesaid Reginald had eight lasts
and one thousand herrings de-
livered free of customs,—viz., five
lasts,* and 1000 herrings forthe year
34, and three lasts forthe year 33 ;—
which said eight lasts and 1000 her-
rings, the aforesaid Reginald swore
upon the Holy Bible were the pro-
perty of the Abbot and convent
of Croyland, and for them were
bought and provided, besides 12
pence half-penny, which the said
Reginald pledged for the aforesaid
three lasts of herrings for the cus-
tom of the year 33, are delivered
to the aforesaid Reginald at the
request and in reverence of the
said William de Ketene, monk.t

Tempore mundinarum Jern, anno
regis, E. fil Regius Henri, xxxiiii.,
Willus de Ketene monach ’de sc’a
fide et Reginaldus de Burg sci
Petretulerunt ball’is mag Jernsba’e
@Vni regis in hee verba :—

Edwardus dei gr’a rex Angl’,
dnus Hibern’ ballis suis de Mag’
Jeruv’ salutem, etc.

Tme ipso apud Newburgh in
Tindal xxx die’ Aug’ anno rem
XXXilii.

Auctoritate cujus brevis predict’
Reginaldus viii last allic ’et 1 mil-
liar’ alli’ quietas habuit de cos-
tuma deliberatus, videl v Yet 1
milliar’ de anno 34 et iii last’ allec
anno Xxxiil. que quidem viii last’
et 1 milliar allec’ predict’ Regi’
cartis sacrae s’tis juravit esse pro-
prias ablatis et convent’ de Croy-
land, et ad opus suorum eruptas et
provisas ; preterea xii denari 1
obolus quos dictus Regin’ posuit
in vad’on pro produits iii last? allec
pro costuma de anno xxxili. delive-
rantur prefato Regin’ ad instanciam
et reverenciam dicti Willi de Ke-
tene monachi.

The port of Yarmouth seems to have had a very im-
portant and exclusive commerce in herrings, not only in

* A Jast, 10,000 herrings.

+ Swindon, pp. 33, 34.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY, 139

England, but with foreign states; for it appears by the
Yarmouth murrage rolls, that sixty foreign vessels, ten
of which were from Lombardy, entered that harbour for
the purpose of procuring herrings, within the five days
from the 28th September to 80th October 1344.*

In 1338 Edward III. demanded forty (leths) lasts of
herrings from his subjects for the use of his army going
to France.t This herring-fishery was about this time,
1357, beginning to be of importance, for we find that in
the 31 of Edward III. (1857) the ancient statute of her-
rings was made, which is worth recording as extremely
interesting for its antiquity, and as describing to a certain
extent the peculiar manner of selling and buying, and
the privileges enjoyed by the resident merchants (hos-
tellers), and the restrictions on the native boats’ crews
(‘‘ pykar”), who were not permitted to buy fresh herrings
in the haven of Yarmouth between the feasts of St
Michael and St Martin,—namely, the 29th September
and 11th November.

The statute of herrings, made anno 31, of Edward III.,
stat. 2, A.D. 1857 :-—

“Cap. 1. No herrings to be bought or sold at sea, nor
until the cable of the ship be fixed on shore.

“Cap. 2. The fishers to sell to whom they please at the
fair, and the sale to be from sun rise to setting, and no
hosteler to pay more than 40s. per last, and no fresh her-
rings to be bought by pykars, between the feasts of St
Michael and St Martin, in the haven of Yarmouth.

“Two lasts of fresh shotted herring shall be of the
value of one last fresh full herring, and two lasts shotted
red shall be one mark dearer than one last full red.”

* Swindon, p. 94. + Bymer, Act. Pub.

140 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

Large shoals are mentioned as having appeared off
Whitby in 1394.

The Scotch seem at an early period to have asserted
their claim to the exclusive right of fishing on their own
coasts ; for on the 14th June 1410, on the petition of the
inhabitants of Brauershavn in Zealand, William, Harl of
Holland, granted power of reprisals against the Scotch,
for their having taken several Dutch vessels employed at
the herring-fishery, and after a long continuation of
hostilities at sea, a treaty of peace was entered into
on Ist August 1416, in which no mention is made of the
fishery, and consequently of no compromise having been
made.*

In the ancient history of Norwich, there is an amusing
account of the celebration of the Christmas festival held
there on Fastings Tuesday, wherein part of the herring
is made to aid in the decoration of one of the performers
on that occasion in 1444. John Gladman was tricked
out with tinsel and ribbons, and was crowned king of
Christmas, and before him went a personification of the
month of December, dressed as the season required, with
an effigy of Lent, “clad in red and white herring skins,”
following him on horseback, the horses’ harness at same
time having been ornamented with shells, the symbol of
those holy men called palmers.t

In 1415, Henry V., on complaint of Eric, King of
Norway, addressed a proclamation to the towns of
“ Yernemouth, Linn, Kingston-upon-Hull, Gippewick,
Scardebourg, D’Orwel, Newcastle, Grimsby, Berwick,
Cranmer, and Dersingham,” prohibiting the inhabitants
of those towns from fishing on the coasts of Norway, so

* Groot Charter Bock, van Holland, vol. 4, pp. 146, 378.
} Hoge’s Instructor, 9th February 1850.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 141

that the permission given to the English in 1294 seems
to have been abused.

We are told that the French caught herrings so early
as 1030; and in the “ Annals of Dieppe,” mention is made
of their fishing herrings on the coast between the Seine
and the Somme about Christmas, in the year 1383.*

By the treaty of peace entered into between Louis XI.
and Charles Duke of Burgundy, dated 14th October 1468,
we find that it was necessary to prevent the molestation
of the fishermen, for a clause of this treaty runs thus:
“Ttis agreed that the French shall not molest the her-
ring-fishery of Holland, Zealand, Brabant, Flanders, and
Boulogne.”

About the year 1202 is the probable time when the
Irish began fishing, as that year John Lackland confirms
by charter a donation of herrings to the Abbey of Connal.}

It is evident, from the facts we have stated, that the
herring-fishery had already, in the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries, become among foreign nations an important
means of employment, food, and wealth ; that vast num-
bers of vessels and people were employed ; that its im-
portance occasioned bloody wars; and that it afforded
food for invading armies. We therefore may expect it had
become equally important in Scotland, and, accordingly,
we find that in the year 1424 herrings were regularly
salted and barrelled as well as smoked.

The Act of the 1st Parliament James I., 26th May
1424,§ says: ‘‘ Alsua for thay that mony thinges passes out

* Pommerage, Hist. del’ Abbaye de St Catherine, 73. Noel, de la Moriniere
Annales de la ville de Dieppe.

t+ Memoirs of Philip de Comines.

¢ Bodl. MS., de Rehas Hib. Fgg. iv. 43.

? Part of this read at a meeting of the “ Society of Antiquaries of
Scotland.”

142 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

of the realme withoutten custome, it is ordained and de-
creeted, &c., that there be paid to the king for custome
of ilke thousand of fresche herringe sauld, of the sellar,
one penny, and of ilke last of herringe barrelled foure
shillings; and of ilke thousand red herringe made in the
realme, foure pennies.”*

In 1429 the fishing was carried on to a large extent,
and the Scottish fishermen caught great quantities at the
mouths of the Dee, Tay, Forth, Tweed, &c., which they
principally sold to the Dutch and other foreigners.”

The following quaint remarks occur in an ancient
historian: Speaking of Scotland, “ France, Flanders,
Zealand, Holland, and mekill of Almany comis with
sundry flotis, passand in the time of Lentrown throu the
seis Mediterrane aye selland thair fische to thair grit
proffit and winning.” ;

And the same authority tells us that Lochfine had
been anciently known as a fishing station: “ In Lochfine
is mair plenti of hering than is in ony seis of Albion.Ӥ

The herrings had been equally changeable as they are
now, for this author says as to Inverness : “Inverness where
sumtym was grit plenti of tak of herring, howbeit, they be
now evanist for offens that is maid against sum sanct.”||

In the reign of King James III. a law was made re-
garding the fittimg out of “ ships, busses, great pink
boats, and nets and other abuilzements:” viz., ‘ THat
Lorprs, Barrones, AND BurROWES, GAR MAKE SCHIPPIS,
BuscHEs, AND GREAT PINK Boats wiTH NETTES. Item,
The Lordis thinkis expidient for the common gude of

* Scots Acts, Ist Parliament James I., 26th May 1424.
+ Noel, de la Moriniere, p. 319.

{ Bellenden’sBoece’s Cosmographie of Albion, xxiii.

§ Ibid. xxxi. || Ibid. xxwxiii.

. CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 143

the Realme, and the great encris of Riches to be brocht
within the Realme of other countries, that certain Lordes,
spiritual and temporal, and Burrowes gar make greate
schippes, Busches, and other great pinck boats with
nettes, and all abuilzements ganand therefore for fis-
chinge, and the execution of this matter, and the form
and number of the seamen, to be had at the continuation
of the Parliament.”*

In the reign of King James IV. the Scottish nation
saw the propriety of maintaining their own rights as to
the fishery; for in 1488 the following Act was passed :
“ That the strangers buy na fish but salted and baralled,
nor buy nane other merchandice, but at free burrowes,
and there pay their deuties and customes, and take their
cocquet as effeires, and that they make na merchandice
at the Leuvis, nor other places, but at free burrowes.”f

The Act of 1471 was in 1491 extended and confirmed
by James IV., Parl. 4, cap. 49; but at same time it was
improperly enacted, that no ships should go to the her-
ring-fishery under twenty tons, a restriction which must
have done much injury, viz. :—

** ANENT THE MAKING OF SCHIPPES AND BUSCHES ON THE
QUHILK ALL IDLE MEN SULD LABOUR.

“ Item, anent the greate innumerable riches that is
tinte in fault of Schippes and Busches to be disponed
for fishing sic like as etheris Realmes his, that are mer-
chand with the sea, and for the Police and conquest,
that may be had here intil, and to cause idle men and
avengeours to labour for their living, for the eschewing

* 6th Parl. King James ITI., 6th March 1471, sect. 48.
t Ist Parl. James LV., 6th October 1488, sect. 3.

144 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

of vices and idleness, and for the commoun profite and
universal weill of the Realme. It is thocht expedient be
the Lordes of the articles, and als statute and ordained
in this present Parliament, that there be Schippes and
Busches maid in all Burrowes and Townes within the
Realme, and that the leaste of the said Schippes and
Busches be of twentie tun. And that the Townes and
Burrowes have the Schippes and Busches according to
the substance of ilk towne, and to the number as after
followis, well abulzied with ilk necessarie graith for the
said Schippes and Busches, and with mariners, nettes, and
other graith convenient for their taking of great fish and
small. And all the said Schippes and Busches to be red-
die maid and furnished to pas to fishing be Fastrens even
next tocum. Andin ilk Burgh of the Royaltie, that the
officiaris of the Burgh make all the starke idle men with-
in their boundes to pass with the said Schippes for their
wages, and gif the said idle men refusis to passe that they
banish them the Burgh. And into Burghs of the schires
quhilk ar neare upon the sea, that the Schireffe of the
shire compell the idle men within his boundes to passe to
‘the said Schippes for their wages. And gif they refuse
in likewise to banish them his schires, and gif the officiaris
of the Burrowes or Schireffes of the schires beis found in
negligent on this, in putting forth of the said Schippes
and Busches, or compelling the said idle men to passe in
them for their wages, or banishing them of their bur-
rowes or schires :—Gif they refuse as said is, they sall pay
to the king an unlaw of twentie pound ilk ane of them,
that is to say, officiaris of the Burgh for the time, and
the schireffe of the shires. For the quhilk they sall be
charged in the checker, and give compt thereupon.”*
* 4th Parl. James IV., 26th June 1491, sect. 49.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 145

In 15382, a disagreement having taken place between
Scotland and the Netherlands, the Scotch proceeded to
interrupt the Dutch in their herring-fishery, and Robert
Fogo, of Leith, with several ships of war under his com-
mand, cruised on the coasts of Holland, and took many
of their herring busses, upon which all the property of the
Scotch merchants in the Netherlands was seized, and
Mary Queen Dowager of Hungary, then Governess of the
Netherlands, wrote to James V. proposing a peace; but
King James insisted on excluding the Dutch entirely from
fishing off the Scottish coasts, and after much depreda-
tion was committed on both sides, a treaty was ultimately
concluded between Charles V. and King James, in 1541.*

Notwithstanding the protection and encouragement
given by the Scottish sovereigns, it does not appear that
herrings were as yet caught in superabundance, because
the quantity exported prevented, or lessened, the supply
required by the inhabitants, to such an extent, that an
Act was passed in 1540, limiting the manner of sale so as
the inhabitants might first be supplied. This Act is as
follows :—

THE TIME OF SELLING OF FISH IN THE MERCAT; ANENT THE
WAY CARRYING OF FISH ; OF THE PRICE OF FISH.

“ Alsua it is statute and ordained that na maner of
person to burgh nor to lande, bye ony maner of fische in
mercat nor other places, to packe or peile, quhil elleven
houres of the day, and fra elleven houres to twa houres
afternoon, it sall be leasum to bye fish, and pack or peile
the samin, as they think maist expedient. And not the
lesse that all our Soveraine Lordis lieges, cadgers, and
others within that time of the day be served for their

* Yair’s “ Hist. of Scottish Trade in the Netherlands,” p. 103.
K

146 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

money, of fish to the furnishing of the cuntrie: And sic
like fra twa houres after noone to sex houres at even, it
sall not be leasum to bye, pack, or peile, the saidis fish,
bot that all our Soveraine Lordis heges at the saidis times
of day may be served of all maner of fish, and bye the
samin for their silver, for sustentation of their house, and
serving of the cuntrie about: And that na maner of person
in this realme, merchand, or uthers, send, or have ony
maner of quhite fishe foorth of the samin, bot it sall be
leasum to strangers to cum within the realme to bye the
samin fra merchands and free men of burrowes with reddie
gold or silver, or be bartouring of sufficient merchandice
with the saidis merchandes, or with the owners thereof,
for their sustentation, necessares of their houses allanerly :
And quhair ony persones hes ony fishe packed or peiled,
that they be ready at all times to sell the samin to all our
Soveraine Lordis heges for furnishing and sustentation of
their houses, and the countrie, under the paine of confis-
cation of the samin. It is statute and ordained that the
provests, aldermen, and baillies of burrowes in everie
mercat day passe and visit the mercattes, and set ane
price on all maner of fishe according to the time, and that
they diligenlie inquire gif ony maner of person gives
arles, or money, on ony maner of fishe that cummis to the
mercat, to the effect that the saimin may be sauld on ane
higher price; that they take and punish the saidis per-
sones as coropares, forestallers, and regratoures against
the commoun weill.” *

And in the same year another Act was passed fixing a
uniform measure for the sale of herrings and other fish,
which is as follows :—

* 7th Parl., James V., 14th March 1540, sect. 98,

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 147

MEASURES OF FISHE SHUD BE MARKED.

“‘ Item, It is statute and ordained that ane binde and
measure be maid for salmounde, herring, and kieling ;
and that the saimin be kept through all the realme,
and that the said measures be conforme to the Actes
of Parliamente, and to that effect that ilk cowper have
ane burning irone of his marke, to marke ilk barrel,
and sic like the town to have ane searchour quhilk
sall have the townes marke in keeping to burn ilk barrel
swa that our Soveraine Lordis custome thereof be not de-
frauded. And gif ony fische, salmounde, herring, cr
keiling, beis founden in sic barrels unmarked, the samin
to be escheit, and sic like the tume trees that are, halfe
to our Soveraine Lorde, and the uther to the towne.” *

But the most injurious Act appears to be one passed in
1573, which ordains that all the herrings and white fish
are to be first brought on shore, and sold in burghs only,
namely :—

HERRINGS AND QUHITE FISCHE, SULD BE BROCHT TO FREE
PORTES WITHIN THE REALME.

“ Item, Forasmeikle as it is heavily complened how that
the haill slayer of all kinds of fisches within this realme, not
regarding the Actes maid be our Soveraine’s«Lordis dearest
predecessours of before quhilk is, that quhen herring and
quhite fische is slayne, they aucht to bring the samin to the
neixt adjacent burrowes and townes quhair the persones
slayers thereof dwellis, to the effect that our Soveraine
Lordis lieges may be first served, and gif abundance oc-
curred, that they might be salted and transported be free
burgesses: Throw none doing of the quhilk our Soveraine

* 7th Parl., James V., 14th March 1540, sect. 109.
K 2

148 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

Lord is greatlie defrauded of his custome, and his hienesse
lieges wants the frut of the sea appoyuted be God for their
nurischment, and the burgesses and freemen of burrowes
disappoynted of their trafficque and commoditie.

‘“‘ Therefore our Soveraine Lord, with advice and consent
of his regent’s grace, the three estaites, and haill body of
this present parliament, ordains that all maner of fischeres
that occupies the sea, and other persones quhat sumever
that happenis to slay herring or quhite fische upon the
coast, or within the isles, or out-with the samin, with the
firthes bring them to free portes there to be saulde com-
mounlie to all our Soveraine Lordis lieges, and the rest to
freemen, quhairby his Majestie’s customes be not defrauded,
and his hienesse lieges not frustrat of the commoditie ap-
poynted to them be God under the paine of confiscation,
and tinsell of the veschelles of them that cummis in the
contrair heirof, and escheitting of all their movabel gudes
to our Soveraine Lordis use.” *

In the same year another Act was passed fixing the
measure of every barrel of herring to be nine gallons of
the striveling measure, enacting, ‘‘ that the coopers shall
brand the barrels each with his ain proper marke,” as the
Act says, ‘‘ Great sclander sustaines the haill nation throw
the default of few number, in so farn as every traffiquer
with sic merchandice causis the cowperis make his bar-
relles and trees of sic quantitie as he pleases.”

Smoked or red herrings about this time seem to have been
a common article of food, for Montgomery, a celebrated
Scottish poet who flourished about 1575, seemed to think
little of the smoked or red herring. His words are :—

“This is no life that I leid up a land
On raw reid herring reisted in the reik.”’

* 4th Parl., James VI., 80th April 1573, sect. 60.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 149

Red herrings seem to have been also in general use in
England about the same time. We read that on Maun-
day Thursday, Cardinal Wolsey washed and kissed the
feet of fifty poor people, gave each twelve pence, three ells
of good canvass for shirts, a pair of shoes, and a cask of
red herrings.*

In 1579 James VI. renews the Act as to the compelling
the landing of herring and “ quhite fishe,” to this effect—
“That our Soveraine Lordis lieges may be first served,
and gif abundance occurred, that they might be salted and
transported be free burgesses.” This ill considered law
must have had a pernicious effect on the fishery at that
time, by preventing unlimited sale to other countries.

In 1584 a new Act was passed by King James VL, of

* “ Howit’s Visits, p. 260.

} “FOR STAPLING AND TRANSPORTING OF HERRINGS AND QUHITE FISCHE.

“ Forasmeikle as divers Actes hes bene maid be our Soveraine Lordis
maist nobil progenitoures in time bygane, ordaining that the slayers of
herrings and quhite fisch, suld bring the samin to the next adjacent bur-
rowes and townes, quhair the persones slayeris theirof dwellis, to the eftict
that our Soveraine Lordis lieges may be first served, and gif abundance
occurred, that they micht be salted and transporting be free burgesses.
And that the said actes throw negligence and oversights hes nocht received
execution.

“ Quhair throw our Soveraine Lord hes been greatlie defrauded in his
customes, and his hienes lieges wanted the fruit of the sea appointed be
God for their nurishment, and the burgesses and free men of burrowes dis-
appointed of their trafficque and commoditie. Therefoir, our Soveraine
Lordis, and the three estaites of parliament, ratifies and approvis all the
saidis actes and constitutiones, maid anent the saidis herring and quhite
fische, and using thereof specialle the Actes maid in the times of umquhile,
his hienes dearest Grandschir, King James the Fourth, of gude memory,
and be his Majestie the time of the regiment of his richt trest cousing
James, Erle of Mortoun, Lord of Dalkeith, Regent to his Hienes, his
realme, and lieges for the time. And ordainis all and sundrie the saidis
Actes to be observed and keiped in all poyntes after the forme and tenour
theirof, and the contraveneris of the samin punisched according thereto.
And that the Schireffes, Stewartes, Baillies, Lordes of Royalties, Provests,
Aldermen, and Baillies of burrowes, and Judges ordinar, quhatsumever, put
the saidis Actes to execution upon the contraveneris thereof. And to that

150 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

a still more objectionable nature, which compelled all
those who fished herrings and white fish, to bring what “is
slayne be the inhabitants within the water of Forth to
Leith, within the priviledge and freedom of the city of
Edinburgh, and within the port and haven of Carail; and
what is slayne beneath Fifisness to the water of Dee, to
Dundee and Perth; and at the west side to Dumbartane,
dividand the bounds at the Clockstane, there to be gaged,
marked, and sauld to the free burgesses of the realme,”
and the most objectionable part is, “that na fischers, or
utheris, unfreemens, sell their said herring and quhite
fisch to ony stranger, or unfreemen, or carrie the samin
forth of the realme, to any uther cuntries to be sauld be
themselves, under the paine of escheiting all their muvable
gudes.*

effect grantis and givis to them power and commission of justiciare, every
ane within the boundes of their ain liberties and jurisdictiones, and to up-
take escheittes of the contraveneris being convict, the twa part to the
Kingis Majesties use, and to make compt thereof yeirlie in his hienes’
checker, and the third part of the samin to the saidis judges executions for
their travelle and labours.” (6th Parl., King James VI., 20th Oct. 1579,
sect. 86.)

* “ ANENT THE GAGE AND STANDARD OF SALMOND, HERRING, AND QUHITE
FISH, AND PRINCIPAL STAPLES THEREOF.

“« Ttem, Our Soveraine Lord, with advice of the three estaites of Parlia-
ment, ratifies and appreivis all and sundrie Actes and Statutes maid be his
hienes and predecessoures concerning the measure of salmond, herring, and
quhite fishe, gageing, burning, and measuring theirof. And to the effect
the saidis Actes may be the better keeped, and for eschewing of defraud of
the saidis measures, and of false and unjust packing of salmond, herring,
and quhite fishe, quhilk is meikle used be unfreemen, fischers, and utheris,
slayeris of the saidis fish, to the great hurt of the free men, burgesses, and
merchandes, and haill commoun weill of this realme. Therefoir, it is
statute and ordained that there be ane just measure and standard for the
salmond maid be the burrowes, conforme to the auld Actes of Parliament,
and the samin to remain at the burgh of Aberdene. And sic like that there
be ane just standard and measure for herring and quhite fish, quhilk sall
be burnt, and remain in the keeping of the Provost and Baillies of Edin-
burgh, and that all salmond trees, herring trees, and quhite fishe trees,

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 151

In the following year, however, it appears that this
last mentioned Act had been found injurious, and was
objected to, as to the restriction to certain burghs where
only the herrings could be graithed or handled, for another
Act was passed permitting the fish to be brought to any
of the free burrowes :—

FISH SLAIN ON UTHER SIDE OF THE WATER OF FORTH MAY
BE BROCHT TO ONY FREE BURGH.

‘“‘Forasmeikle as in the Act of Parliament lately maid
anent the packing and peiling of herring, and quhite fish,

universallie throw this realme, sall be of the gage and measure foresaid ;
and that ilk burgh sall receive ane patrone and measure of the gage fore-
said, and sall cause the cooperes within their boundes make their trees
conforme to the said measure, and the same to be burnt be the town iron,
and couppers iron, on baith ends, and upon the steppe beside the bung.
And in case ony salmond, herring, or quhite fish be packed in utheris trees,
nor of the just gage foresaid, burnt and marked as said is, the samin sall
be escheit to our Soveraine Lord. And ordainis the principal staple of
salmond fra Dee north, to be at the burghes of Aberdeen and Elgine, and
the principal staple of herring and quhite fish, slaine be the inhabitants
within the water of Forth, to lie in Leith, within the priviledge and free-
dom of the city of Edinburgh, and within the port and haven of Carail.
And the staple of salmond, herring, and quhite fish, slayne be north Fifis-
ness, to the water of Dee, to be at Dundee, or Perth. And that the saidis
Provest, and Baillies of Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Carail, Elgine, Perth, and
Dundee, sall appoynte ane discreet man to be visitour, wracker, and gager,
and burner of the saidis trees, and appoynte to him ane reasonable duty of
ilke last thereof for his labours. That all unfreemen, fischers, and slayers
of herring and quhite fish, dwelland within the boundes of the water of
Forth, on baith the sides to the water mouth of Tay, bring the herring and
quhite fish to be slayne by them in time cumming to the portes of Leith,
or Carail, and at west side to Aire and Dumbartane, dividand the boundes
betwixt, at the Clockstane, there to be gaged and marked, and sauld to the
free burgesses of this realme. And that na fischers, or others unfreemen,
sell their said herring and quhite fish to ony strangers, and unfreemen, or
carrie the samin forth of this realme, to ony uther cuntries, to be sauld be
themselves, under the paine of escheiting of all their moveable gudes: the
ane half to our Soveraine Lordis use, and the uther half to the burrowes
qua sall convict them be vertue of their commissiones.” (King James
VI, 8th Parl., May 22d, 1584, sect. 141.)

152 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

and uther fish slaine on uther sides of the water of Forth, it
is expreslie provided that all the saidis fishes sall be brocht
to the porte of Leith and Carrail allanerlie: There to be
graithed and handled as in the said Act at mair length is
contained. Quhilk sinsine hes bene very hurtful and
prejudicial to the remanent free burrowes and sea ports
on uther side of the said water of Forth. Therefore our
said Soveraine Lord, with advice of his three estaites con-
vened in this present Parliament, declaris, statutis, and
ordainis, that it sall be leasum to the remanent of the
said free burrowes to have the saidis fishes brocht to ilk
ane of them in time cumming, alsweil, as to the saidis
portes of Leith and Carrail. Notwithstanding ony re-
striction maid thereanent be the saide Acte or uther ways
of befoir, dispensand therewith for ever. And ordainis
letters of publication to pass hereupon informe as effeiris.”*

We have an amusing account of the excitement oc-
casioned among the superstitious of all ranks in 1587, in
consequence of marks on two herrings fished on the 10th
November of that year off the coast of Norway, which
seemed to exhibit words in Gothic letters. They were
brought to Copenhagen, and seven days after their cap-
ture presented to King Frederick the Second, who was
terrified at their appearance, and thought they predicted
his own death. He consulted the wise men of the age,
who read the letters, and said that they were the fol-
lowing very innocent, and at present true prophecy,
“You will not fish herrings in future so well as other
nations.” But this interpretation did not satisfy the king,
and he applied to the learned men of Rostock ; but neither
the professors there, nor at several of the universities of
Germany who were consulted, could give a satisfactory

* 10th Parl., King James VI., 10th Dec. 1585, sec. 114.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 153

interpretation of the prophetic budget carved out on the
backs of the two ominous fishes; but a learned French
mathematician, then at Copenhagen, published a large
volume in elucidation of the supposed words. This work
would be a curiosity if it were found, as we are not in-
formed what his interpretation was. Another author
published his opinions, to the effect that the supposed
letters announced the subversion of all Europe.*

In 1587 the fishery of herrings in the North Highlands
had been extensive, for a law was passed in that year,
ordering that the ‘“customares and searchers sall take
inquisition, and note quhat quantity victual every schip
or vessel takis in at her passing to Loch Broom and
utheris the North Isles and loches in the harvest season
in fishing, and take souerty that they shall returne the
third part of their lading of hering or quhite fish, to be
sold to our Soveraine Lordis’ lieges for their sustentation
and furnishing of the cuntrie, under the paine of one
hundred pounds.” The act is as follows :—

ANENT VICTUALLING OF SCHIPPES PASSING TO THE NORTH
FISHINGS, AND CAUTION TO BE FOUND FOR THEIR RETURNING.

“ Ttem, Our Soveraine Lord and his three estaites,
convened in this present parliament, statutis and ordainis
that the customares and searchers sall take inquisition,
and note quhat quantity victual every schip or vessel
takis in at her passing to Loch Broome and utheris the
North Isles and loches in the harvest season in fishing,
and take souerty that they shall returne the third part of
their lading of hering or quhite fish within this firth or
other free burrowes, to be sold to our Soveraine Lordis

* Cuvier et Valenciennes, Nat. Hist. des Poissons, vol. xx. p. 71.

154 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

lieges for their sustentation and furnishing of the cuntrie,
under the paine of ane hundred poundes.” *

In 1600 another objectionable Act was passed, pro-
hibiting the exporting of herrings before Michaelmas
(Old Michaelmas, 11th October), and ordering that the
herrings be brocht to public marcets, and their sauld to
all his hienes’ lieges upon reasonable pryces.” f

About this time King James VI., before he went to
England, endeavoured to establish a fishing colony at the
Lewis Islands, and an expedition proceeded thither for
this purpose commanded by William Murray, Learmonth
of Balcomy, James Spence of Wormwood, Sir James
Anstruther, and James Forrest of Fingask. The co-
partners had agreed to get possession of the Lewis for
140 chaldrons of barley, and took 600 men with them and
several gentlemen as volunteers. They had, however, to
contend with Mardoc M‘Leod, who then commanded
there, but who was ultimately compelled to entgr into a

* 11th Parl., King James VI., 29th July 1587, sect. 57.

+ ACT ANENT THE SALTING AND TRANSPORTING OF HERRING.

“The King’s Majesty, with advyse of the estaites of this present parliament,
statutis and ordainis that na person or persones, als well strangers as native
borne subjects of this realme, take upon hand to buy, pack, peill, salt, barrel,
or yet transport foorth of this realme any herring, in small or great quantity,
at any time before Michaelmas yearly, but to suffer the samine to be
brought to public marcets, and there sauld to all his hieness’ lieges upon
reasonable pryces, without attempting anything in the contraire thereof,
under paine of confiscation of the samine to the apprehender, and the rest
to his Majestie’s use, to be intromitted with by his hienes’ comptroller, and
sik as he shall give power and commission to for that effect ; and statutis
and ordainis that no licences be granted hereafter for packing, peiling,
salting, and transporting of herring before the time foresaid, except the
samine liecences be granted with consent of the counsell sitting in the
counsell. And after granting of the said licences, ordaines the saimine
to pass the signet and haill seals, otherwise declares the samine licenses to
be null and of no avail.” (King James VI., 16th parliament, 15th No-
vember 1600.)

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 155

treaty. M‘Leod afterwards left the district, and when
Learmonth of Baleomy was on his return to report the
success of the expedition, he was attacked by M‘Leod,
his men killed, and he himself made prisoner and de-
tained, M‘Leod demanding a ransom. Learmonth died
in the Orkneys; and ultimately, M‘Leod and twelve of
his followers were taken and executed at St Andrews.

In 1602 the commissioners of England and Scotland
agreed that the fishing within fourteen miles of the shore
of Scotland, “ where neither English nor other strangers
used to fish,” should be reserved to the Scotch.*

In the year 1605 the attempt to establish a colony of
fishermen at the Lewis Island was repeated. The com-
pany before named transferred their right to Lumsdale of
Airdrie and Mr Hay, who, getting aid from M‘Kenzie and
Donald Gorm, compelled the M‘Leod of that time and
his followers to leave the island, and got people from
the south to erect houses and an establishment; but as
the funds became exhausted, they sold their right to
M‘Kenzie, and the enterprise was then given up.

In October 1609, King James VI. issued a proclama-
tion prohibiting foreigners from fishing on the coasts of
Great Britain, and, accordingly, the following year, the
Dutch made a treaty with him, agreeing to pay for
liberty to fish in the British seas.

Tn 1613 a composition was made for the usual supply
of fish to the king’s household by Great Yarmouth,
namely, annually to supply 1500 cods and 60 barrels of
white herrings, of the best brand, at the price of 13s. 4d.
per barrel, and 10 casks of full red herrings, of one night’s

* Spottiswoode’s History of Scotland, p. 483.

t Salmon’s Chronology, vol. i. p. 96; Anderson’s Commerce, vol. i.
p. 478.

156 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

death, at the price of 6s. 8d. per cask; the supply of cod
to begin in August, and of herrings in December.*
Charles I. seems to have been anxious to encourage the
fishery, and under his auspices the Earl of Pembroke fitted
out several busses, but unfortunately they were princi-
pally taken by the Spaniards, and the crews imprisoned,
who had to be ransomed at high rates, and the earl,
in this spirited enterprise, it is said, lost about L.50,000.
There appears to have been “ past memory of man” a
tax or duty paid by foreign ships coming to Orkney and
Shetland, or to the coasts of the different islands, for a
remonstrance having been made by the republic of Bre-
men against Sir James Stewart of Kilsyth, then farmer of
the Isles of Orkney and Shetland, as if he had imposed
higher duties than usual upon the ships and goods of the
inhabitants of that town, the same was remitted by the
king to the Privy Council, and their decision was as fol-
lows:—‘‘ The Lords of Council having heard and con-
sidered all that was proposed and alleged by both the
said parties in this matter, and understanding that the
foresaid toll-duty of six angels and a dollar} of every
stranger ship arriving within the said bounds of Orkney
and Shetland, has been thankfully and willingly paid,
past memory of man, to the Earls of Orkney of the time ;
and that count has been made to his Majesty’s Exchequer,
as being a part of the proper rent and patrimony of the
earldom of Orkney and Shetland. Therefore the said
Lords ordain the said toll and duty of six angels and a
dollar, of every stranger ship arriving within the said
bounds, in their lawful trade to stand, and be paid to his

* Swinden, p. 117.
+ The angel was a gold coin equai to the half mark, or 6s. 8d., and the

dollar, 4s. 6d.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 157

Majesty, and his successors, their comptrollers, chamber-
lains, and factors, in their name, in all time coming; and
touching the custom craved from the said strangers for
the commodities exported and imported by them, the said
Lords understand that the said customs properly belong
to his Majesty, and that all foreign princes, within their
dominions, have the freedom and privilege of customs as a
royal prerogative, and that no person, stranger, or native
subjects, can, with reason, crave an immunity and freedom
from payment of customs: Therefore, the said Lords ordain
the customs to stand, and to be paid, in all time coming, to
his Majesty, his comptrollers, and officers, and touching all
other tolls and duties craved of the said strangers, the Lords
discharge the same s¢mpliciter ; discharging the said Sir
James Stewart of all asking and uplifting the same.”*
That the Scottish nation, in former times, fully under-
stood and asserted their right to the fishery on their coasts
is evinced by the Records of the Privy-Council of Scotland.
Thus, in 1619, a commission was passed under the Great
Seal of Scotlaud, appointing Mr John Fenton to repair to
the North Seas of his Majesty’s kingdom, and there, in
his Majesty's name, to ask and receive from those of
Holland, Zealand, Hamburgh, Sweden, and Rostock, and
from all other strangers haunting the trade of fishing in
his Majesty’s said seas, this present year, his Majesty’s
rent of assize and teind of the hail fishes taken, or to be
taken, by them, in his Majesty’s said seas and waters, of
this present year, counting his Majesty’s assize duty to
10,000 herrings for every buss of herrings, and a last of
white fish for every buss of white fish, or else to receive
from them the sum of 138s. 4d., usual money of this king-

* Privy-Coun. Reg., June 30, 1614. + L.1 Scots is 1s. 8d. English.

158 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

dom, for every thousand of the said assize herrings, and
L.50 money of this kingdom for every last of the said
assize white fish, and accordingly for every thousand
teind herring, and for every last of the teind white fish.*

Instead, however, of the Scottish fleet having been
permanently engaged in getting “ tends and assize,” it
seems tohave been otherwise employed, for it was not even
occupied in protecting “the poor fishers in Scotland”
in 1625, for, on the 25th of September of that year, a letter
from the Lords of the Council was sent to his Majesty,
relating to ‘“‘ the great abuses done by the busses of the low
countries” in fishing along the north and east coasts of Scot-
land, to the utter ruin of all the poor fishers in Scotland, and
“ prejudicing the hail kingdom of the benefit of herrings.”+

In 1680 King Charles issued a commission to inquire
into the fishery of the British coasts, and how the same
might be rendered more beneficial by forming a general
fishing company, and at the same time sent “‘a missive
letter” and ‘‘ instructions” to Sir William Alexander, Se-
cretary of State for Scotland, at Edinburgh, dated West-
minster, 12th July 1630, which are of sufficient importance
to be given at length. The records state as follows :—

“1630, July 830.—The which daySir William Alexander,
knight, his Majesty’s Principal Secretary of State in this
country, exhibited and gave notice, and he states his
Majesty’s missive-letter underwritten, together with the
instructions given by his Majesty to the said Sir William,
to be treated by him with the said estates about the erec-
tion of a general fishing, of which missive-letter and
instructions the tenor follows :—

* Privy-Council Records of Scotland, 29th June 1619.
+ Privy-Council Records, Book 26.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 159

“ CHARLES R.

“ Right trusty and well-beloved cousin and coun-
cillor, and right trusty and well-beloved councillors,
We greet you well. Having, with the advice of our coun-
cil here in England, materially considered that, as well in
thankfulness to Almighty God, as for the benefit of our
loving subjects, we ought no longer to neglect that great
blessing offered to us, in the great abundance of fish upon
the coasts of our islands; to the end we may at length
enjoy, with mare honour, those riches which properly be-
long to our imperial crown, and are usurped by strangers,
we have considered of a way which in time, by God’s
favour, may produce this effect, and also increase our
navigation and trade; and because this work concerns
equally our three kingdoms, and must therefore be under-
taken and ordered by common councils’ assistance, we
have taken this opportunity of our convention, at Edin-
burgh, to send our instructions to Sir William Alexander,
Secretary for Scotland, to acquaint you with certain pro-
portions for the advancement of this service; and we
require you both to give him hearing at large, and freely
to treat with him, in every point of his instructions, and
in whatever may be found expedient for the furtherance
of so good and great a work, concerning both our honour
and the public good; and withal we expect that you pro-
ceed not only to a resolution upon such articles as shall
be agreed upon, but that you also put them in execution,
so as, by him, we may specially understand how you take
it to heart, and how far you concur for the accomplish-
ment of the work; wherein you may expect from us such
privileges and powers as shall be convenient, and as rea-
sonable as you can desire; and also be assured we shall
graciously accept your extraordinary care and forwardness

160 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

in a business which, with extraordinary earnestness, we
recommend to you.
“Given at our Palace of Westminster, the 12th
day of July 1630.
“ By his Majesty’s commands.
(Signed) “ JoHN CoKE.”

“ Instructions for Sir William Alexander, our Secretary
of State for our kingdom of Scotland, employed by us to
treat with the Lords of our Privy Council there, about the
erection of a general fishery :—

“First, You are to signify to the said Lords, and others
of our Council in Scotland, that having duly considered
how great a blessing God hath given our kingdoms, in
the abundance of sea fish upon all our coasts, and how the
benefit thereof is reaped only by strangers, to the great
disparagement and prejudice of our loving subjects, we
have now taken a royal and firm resolution to set up a
common fishery, to be a nursery of seamen, and to increase
the fishery and trade of all parts of our dominions, and
this being a common benefit to all our three kingdoms, so
as they cannot be dividedly enjoyed by any.

“Our royal and gracious pleasure is to have it under-
taken and ordered by common council and adventurers,
and to that end (among other things, we have sent you to
this meeting of the Lords of our Council at Edinburgh,
there to make this intimation), and to represent to them
the propositions which have been offered and approved of
here, tending to the advancement of this great work, that
they may be taken there into the like serious considera-
tion; and as well to ratify, and confirm what they shall
agree upon, and advise what other ways and means may
conduce to the perfecting thereof; and because a great

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 161

stock must be raised in contribution of adventurers, who
cannot otherwise be drawn into it, but by hope of great
and present gain, you are to show to the said lords the
estimate of the charge and profit, which being too long to
insert here, and the profits of the fish less than they were
in these days, shall only take notice that the charge of
one hundred vessels was computed at L.72,000, and the
fish taken in one season is rather computed at too much,
in my opinion, as they are reckoned to come to L.100,000,
so that there is L.28,000 got clear in one season, besides
the vessels.”

The king began to be aware of the propriety of pro-
tecting the coasts, for he sent a message to the Earl of
Stratherne, to be communicated to the Privy Council of
Scotland, “ that they give orders for the removing of all
strangers repairing to our coasts for fishing, and others
trading without license ;” this was on the 13th August,
1682.

In June 1633, Mr Smith was sent by the Earl of Pem-
broke to Shetland, to inquire as to the herring-fishery
carried on in that neighbourhood ; and this gentleman
says in his report: “I was an eye witness of the Hol-
landes busses fishing for herrings on the coasts of Shet-
land, not far from Unst, one of the northernmost islands.
I was informed that the fleet consisted of fifteen hundred
sail, and that there were twenty waffters, as they called
them, which were ships carrying about twenty guns each,
being the convoys of the fleet of busses, which said busses
were of the burthen of about eighty tons.” *

In the same year Charles I. granted a charter, with
many privileges, to a new company, for the purpose of
establishing a fishery at the Hebrides; the undertaking

* Smith’s England’s Improvement, revised, 257.
L

162 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

was supported by the Duke of Richmond, the Earl of
Pembroke, Lord Southampton, Sir William Monro, and
others of distinction, and aided by the Privy purse. King
Charles enjoined Lent to be more strictly observed, and
agreed to purchase the fish for the navy from this com-
pany. Several magazines for storing casks and salt were
built in the Hebrides, one in Harris, and another at
Lochmaddy, in North Uist, but the civil wars ensuing,
the Danes and Dutch attacked the new colonies, and the
undertaking was thus prevented; the sufferers after-
wards petitioned Charles II. for redress, and stated
that they had sustained losses to the extent of
L.300,000.*

In the year 1633, Mr Dick, merchant in Edinburgh,
farmer of the Isles of Orkney and Shetland, received from
his sub-collector at Stronza, a small port of the Orkneys,
the sum of L.858, Scottish money, as the teind duty of
thirty-two Dutch doggers, thirty paying L.27 each, and
two L.24 each.

In 1636 King Charles issued a proclamation prohibiting
all persons, not his natural born subjects, from fishing on
the coasts and seas of Great Britain and Ireland, without
a special license first obtained from his Majesty, and
accordingly the Dutch agreed to pay L.30,000 for liberty
to fish that summer.t

In the year 1642 Mr Dick again accounted for teinds
from the same port of Stronza, L.507 for eighteen Dutch
doggers, and two busses, proceeding to the fishing.

In 1654, a new company in London endeavoured to
renew the fishery at the Hebrides, but Cromwell destroyed
their forts at Stornoway, and built new ones to restrain

* Rymer’s Foedera, vol. xx. p. 20.
+ Rusheworth Collection, 322.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 163

the inhabitants ; but his garrison was also destroyed, and
the fishery was again abandoned.*

Some four months after Charles I1.’s restoration, and in
1661, he wrote a letter to the Lord Mayor of London, re-
commending the city of London to fit out busses for
fishing herring ; and on the 23d of August, a commission
was issued under the Great Seal, by King Charles II.,
appointing his Royal Highness James Duke of York,
Lord Clarendon, and several others, to be a Council of the
Royal Fishery of England, Scotland, and Ireland, which
society, thus encouraged by the sovereign, endeavoured to
renew the herring-fishery in the north of Scotland, and
raised funds by way of lottery, and by public collections ;
and Dutch families were invited to Stornoway as settlers.

In this year also King Charles II. renewed the prohi-
bition as to foreigners fishing in the British seas, and it is
stated that the Dutch agreed to pay L.10,000 per annum
for this privilege.

On the Ist January, in the year 1661, the Scottish
Parliament, on the suggestion of Charles IT., passed an
Act for the purpose of encouraging the establishment of
fishery companies ; it is entitled, “ Act for fishing, and
erecting of companies, for promoting of the same.” The
preamble proves the high anticipations of the promoters
of it. The Act begins thus: ‘“ Our Sovereign Lord, con-
sidering the best and readiest means for improving the
benefit and advantages which properly belong unto him by
the fishes which are, or may be, taken within the seas,
channels, firths, and lochs adjacent, and surrounding this
his ancient kingdom, and perceiving the same may be of
great advantage many ways, especially in that the said
trade will not only be a nursery for seafaring men, and a

* Knox’s Observations on the Northern Fisheries, p. 18.

1 ey

164 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING- FISHERY,

speedy occasion of building ships for his Majesty’s and
his subjects’ use, both in peace and war, but likewise will
set many poor and idle persons awork, and furnish the
materials of a great native export, for the continual en-
riching of his Majesty’s kingdom, by a sure foundation of
trade and commerce.” And it accordingly authorises the
erection of corporations, each member admitted to which
shall pay not less than one hundred merks into the funds ;
that the company, or companies, “ shall have full powers
to fish” herring, or white fish, ‘“ build houses and little
cottages,” to make laws and regulations, and to constitute
councils and courts to decide in all matters regarding
the fishery, and none was to be of the council who did
not subscribe at least one thousand merks; that his
Majesty, ‘‘out of his innate beneficence, and royal bounty,
ordained that salt, cordage, hemp, cork, pitch, tar, clap-
board, knaple, skewhoops, and Holland nets, imported by
said companies, should be free of duty ;” that such herrings
should be “ free of any manner of taxation or burden” on
exportation ; that “strange fishers,” who came to reside
in Scotland, should be, on the application of said com-
panies, naturalised, and free of any taxation for the space
of seven years ; released and discharged the said company
of the teind herring, and the excise herring, due to his
Majesty (except the herring of Dunbar), for the space of
nine years; “freed” the beer, strong waters, and other
provisions, for outfitting of any vessel, of all duty;
charging all proprietors of lands to protect said companies
and their people, and discharging them from exacting
more than twelve shillings Scots (1s. English), per last of
twelve barrels in full of all dues ; and declares the ships,
boats, vessels, and people, free of detention, arrestment, or
caption, during the time of fishing.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 165

The objectionable parts of this otherwise liberal enact-
ment are, that no herrings taken by Scotsmen, not be-
longing to the companies, were to be sold to any but
natives; that the return from foreign places was to be
sold only “in free burghs to free burgesses, provided
they do not retail by selling less quantites nor five tun of
wine, or the equivalent in value ;” but the only great
error in this Act was the erecting of companies and placing
the funds at the disposal of managers and council. The
following is the Act in question :—

‘ ACT FOR FISHING AND ERECTING OF COMPANIES FOR
PROMOVING OF THE SAME.

‘ Our Sovereign Lord, considering the best and readiest
‘means for improving the benefit and advantages which
‘properly belong unto him, by the fishes which are or
‘may be taken within the seas, channels, firths, and
‘lochs adjacent and surrounding this his ancient king-
‘dom; and perceiving the same may be of great ad-
‘vantage many wayes, especially in that the said trade
‘ will not only be a nursery for seafaring men, and a
‘speedy occasion of building ships for his Majestie’s
‘ and his subjects’ use, both in peace and war, but, like-
* wise, will set many poor and idle persons awork, and
‘furnish the materials of a great native éxport for the
‘ continual enriching of his Majestie’s kingdoms by a sure
‘ foundation of trade and commerce; for which ends, and
‘ that the said trade of fishing may be the more effectually
‘ advanced and promoved within this his Majestie’s ancient
‘kingdom ; his sacred Majesty, with consent of his estates
‘now conveened in this present Parliament, hath erected,
‘ and by the tenour hereof erects, and creates, and estab-
‘ lishes particular societies and companies of his Majestie’s

166 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

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free-born naturalised inhabitants of Scotland, and of all
others who shall be taken and enrolled in any of the
said companies and societies, and admitted to the privi-
leges thereof, and shall enter themselves in the said so-
cieties within any shire or burgh of this said kingdom,
one or moe betwixt and the

day of , as the first modern societies or
companies to the effect after specified, constituting and
creating such persons who shall enter themselves and
their successors in a body and incorporation politick to
exercise the trade under-written : And ordains that none
be accepted therein, except he who shall enter the sum
of five hundred merks Scots, at least, of stock in the said
society: And wills and grants that whosoever are of the
forsaid societies or companies to be constitut, their heirs
and assignees, shall enjoy the yearly benefit of the stock
to be given by them in all time after the ingiving there-
of, but to have no power to uplift the stock, except by
consent of the companie or council thereof after-specified,
granting and committing like as his Majestie by the
tenour hereof gives, grants, and commits to the said
companies and societies so to be constitut, and to all
such whom they or their successors shall admit or re-
ceive therein, full power to take and fish herring and
white fish in all sundry seas, channels, firths, rivers,
floods, lakes, and lochs of this his Majestie’s said ancient
kingdom of Scotland and isles thereuntobelonging, where-
soever herring and white fish are or may be taken, and
to bring in and disburden the said herring and other
white fishes to all and sundry ports, harbours, shores,
and to lay the same on the land, and pickle them with
salt, and to dry and load the same in barrels and pun-
cheons, and for conservation of the said herrings and

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 167

‘fishes ; to build houses and little cottages, and other
‘ things necessary for the use of the said fishery trade in
‘ whatsoever places shall be convenient, upon the pay-
‘ment of the allowance under-written, unto the lord or
‘master of the ground or otherwise ; to sell, use, and dis-
‘ pose upon the said herrings and other fishes to the in-
‘habitants, or to keep and conserve the same in their
‘ships and boats, and so make and prepare them therein ;
‘ and to carry and transport the same to foreign parts be-
‘ yond seas in ships and other vessels belonging to them
‘or his Majestie’s other subjects, and to sell, use, and
‘dispose thereupon to such who shall be in friendship
‘and amity with his Majesty and his successors; with
‘ power also to the said companies and societies respec-
‘ tive to elect and make choice of such of their own num-
‘ber as they shall think fit for making and framing of
‘ laws, statutes, and rules, for the right regulating, manag-
‘ing, and carrying on of the same trade of fishing, the
‘said laws being always aproven and allowed by the
‘ Council of Trade, and to punish transgressors accordingly,
‘and that they be Scotsmen or naturalised strangers, and
‘residents within the said kingdom, and to the which
‘ Council so to be nominated, constitute the said companies
‘respective shall submit, and to all their acts, statutes,
‘and rules especially, but prejudice of the generality
‘ foresaid, to the particular rules under-written. To wit,
‘ First, That none after the erecting and setling of the
‘said companie or society may enter or come in but by
‘ consent of the company or council thereof, after the said
: day of next, except they be
‘ appointed or enrolled and taken by the Council of Trade,
‘to whom any person, in case of exclusion, may make his
‘address. Secondly, That the return from foreign places

168 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

‘ upon the stock may be all sold in free burghs and to free
‘ burgesses within this kingdom by the said companies, .
‘or any of them or their factors, without any previous
‘ offer to the burgh, provided they do not retail by selling
‘ quantities, under five tun of wine, orthe equivalentin value
‘in other commodities which shall only be sold in whole-
‘ sale, without any retail whatsoever. Thirdly, That no
‘herring or white fish taken by Scotsmen in the said
‘ kingdom or isles thereto belonging, be sold fresh or salt
‘to any, but to natives, except by the companies respect-
‘ ive, and that no strangers unnaturalised shall have liberty
‘to make or prepare herrings or white fish upon the land,
‘or to make boths for that effect, under the pain of con-
‘ fiscation of what seized upon, and the double thereof to
‘ be exacted off the seller, except they be free of one of
‘ the companies forsaid ; with power also to the said coun-
‘ cil to use and have a seal or gage for ilk company re-
‘ spective, wherewith all their barrels or puncheons may
‘be marked; and that ilk barrel of green fish contain
‘twelve gallons, which is to be the ordinar gage betwixt
‘ buyer and seller; and also to make use of and employ all
‘and sundry tolbooths and warding-houses where neces-
‘ sity requires, for holding of courts, warding, or punish-
‘ ing of transgressors, the burghs being always free of the
‘ charges of the prisoners ; and, further, to depute such of
‘ their number as they think fit concerning all businesses
‘and affairs, and to cognosce and determine in all ques-
‘tions and debates relating to the said trade of fishing,
‘ and to cause execute such decrees and sentences as shall
‘be pronounced thereupon ; and for that effect to make
‘ choice of officers and servants, and to administer oaths
‘to them, and amongst themselves, for the good of the
‘ trade, and, if need be, with power to the said council to

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CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY, 169

design certain judges under them in convenient places to
administer justice in the matter of the trade fishing
allenarly: And our sovereign Lord being willing to
cherish and encourage the forsaid societies and com-
panies in the said trade, hath, out of his innate benefi-
cence and royal bounty, ordained, and by the tenour
hereof discerns and ordains that salt, cordage, hemp,
cork, pitch, tar, clapboard, knaple, skewhoops, and Hol-
land nets, imported for the trade of fishing foresaid, by
the foresaid companies respective, are and shall be
free of any custome or other imposition whatever ;
and that the herring and white fish taken, made,
or prepared therewith, are and shall be free of any
manner of taxation or burden in the exportation of
the same. And also, that all strangers fishers, who
shall repair to this, his Majestie’s ancient kingdom, and
will come and make their residence within the same,
shall be naturalised by his Majestie upon the desire and
application of any of the said councils, and shall be
entered burgesses in any city where they shall reside, and
shall be freed of all manner of taxation, for the space
of seven years next after their arrival. And further, his
Majesty hath released and discharged, and by the tenour
hereof impliciter releases and discharges the teind
herring, and teind fish, of all such herring and fish
which shall be taken by the boats and fishers of
the said companies respective, or such who shall be
hired by them in all time hereafter; and also exoners
and discharges the excise herring due to his Majestie
(except the herring of Dunbar) for all the days, space,
years, and terms, of nine years next after the date
hereof ; and in like manner his Majestie declares that all
ale, beer, strong waters, and other provisions for the out

170 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

‘ reeking of any vessel for the said fishings of the said
‘ companies, is and shall be free of all manner of imposi-
‘tions whatever; commanding hereby the lords and
‘masters of the ground, in all places through the said
‘kingdom where there is loch or other fishings, not only
‘to protect, maintain and defend the said company and
‘society, and all masters of ships, fishers, and others
‘ whatsoever, going about the said trade, and belonging
‘to the respective companies of fishing, from all harm,
‘ trouble, or damage whatsoever, or else to satisfy and re-
‘fund their loss and damage which they shall sustain
‘upon their land, but also that they nor none of them
‘ presume nor take upon hand to exact or levy any more
‘from the said fishers, merchants, or their servants be-
‘longing to said companies for ground leave, but
‘only twelve shillings Scots for every last, and that in
‘ full satisfaction of the Saturdayes fishing, or any manner
‘ of dues whatsoever ; and for the greater encouragement
‘of merchants, fishers, masters of ships, and other vessels
‘ and their servants, to attend the said trade of fishing,
‘his Majestie by his sovereign authority and prerogative
‘royal, not only by these presents declares the ships,
‘boats, and other vessels with their furniture provided
‘for, and in exercise of the said trade of fishing, no
‘ways to be arrestable by any creditor, but that the
‘same and those that shall serve them shall be free from
‘all actions, and no ways conveenable before any judge
‘ judicatory whatsoever, for any cause or causes civil,
‘ which may be intended against them, but also by the
‘tenour hereof, declares the said fishers, masters, and
‘their servants above written, shall be free of captions,
‘ arrestments, or other attachments, on their persons or
‘against their materials and instruments of fishery dur-

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 171

‘ing the time and season of fishing, they being actually
‘serving therein allenarly. And further, that none who
‘shall be upon council or any of the sureties of trade
‘ foresaid, shall be lable to less stents or taxation, for
‘ what stock they have entered, or shall enter in the said
‘ companies or societies respective, or for the benefit or
‘ profit arising thereby in time coming, Andit is hereby
‘ declared, that it shall be licent to any of the council or
‘ societies of said trade of fishing respective, for the good
‘ thereof, to dwell and reside in any part or place of his
‘said kingdom, albeit they be burgesses in any burgh
‘ royal, and not thereby loss their freedom, notwithstand-
‘ing of any act or acts in the contrare. And in like
‘manner it is hereby declared, that no person nor persons
‘ shall have liberty to export herrings or fish, nor shall
‘use and have priviledges, liberties, immunities, above
‘ written, but those that shall enter themselves and be
‘ free in one or other of the said companies and societies.
‘ And finally, it is hereby statute and ordained, that those
‘in the several shires and burghs of this kingdom, who
‘ shall enter in the said companies and societies, conform
‘ to the tenour of this present Act, shall give an account
‘thereof to the parliament, or his Majesties council of
‘ trade for the time within after the erection
‘ thereof, that the same may be recorded, ad futurum Ret
‘ memoriam.” *

On the 17th November 1663, at a meeting of the privy
council, the Duke of York being present, Sir Richard
Chaterton, Sir William Batten, and Sir William Ryder,
were appointed by his Royal Highness as the council to
meet and draw up proposals for the formation of the

* 1st Parl. King Charles II., Ist January 1661, sect. 39.

172 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

Royal Herring-Fishery; andthey accordingly met, attended
by three gentlemen well acquainted with the subject (Mr
Simon Smith, Mr John King, and Mr Thomas King), and
measures were arranged for prosecuting the undertaking
with vigour, and it was then proposed to adopt the Dutch
herring-fishery laws; and the Royal Fishery Company was
ultimately established. Thestockof the company amounted
to L.11,000, and they fitted out seven busses in Holland ;
but unfortunately the French, in 1677, took six out of
their seven busses, with their cargoes, and in July 1680
the company sold their remaining ship and stores; but
in 1681 the subject was again revised, and a capital of
L.60,000 was subscribed for the purpose of renewing the
fishery, but without much success. *

About this time however, the herring-fishery seems to
have been prosecuted with vigour on the coast of Scotland;
M‘Ure in his “View of Glasgow” (page 206), says
“ Walter Gibson one year made, packed, and cured, 300
lasts of herrings, @ L.6 stg. @ last, containing 12
barrels each last; and having freighted a Dutch ship
called the ‘“‘ St Agati,” burdened 450 tons, the ship with the
great cargo arrived safely at St Martins, in France, where
he got for each barrel of herrings a barrel of brandy and
a erown; and the ship at her return was loaded with salt
and brandy, and the product came to a prodigious sum, so
that he bought this great ship and other two large ships.”
And from a MS. of Sir Robert Sibbald’s, in the Advocate’s
Library, quoted by Dr Walker, it appears that 600 boats,
with above 4000 men, had been seen at one time employed
in the herring-fishery of the Clyde, which afforded about
3750 tons for exportation ; and it is also stated that one

* John Collins on Salt and Fishery, 1681, pp. 2 and 57.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 173

or two towns on the coast of Fife fitted out 168 boats,
manned by 1120 men, and generally exported 12,000
barrels.* And an author who wrote a work on “Salt
and Fishery,” says the Scotch boats every year carry away
from Dublin L.60,000 sterling for salt and herrings.

The undertakings which had been begun in London seem
to have been unsuccessful, for on the 25th September
1684, letters patent under the great seal were granted by
King Charles II., incorporating a company for carrying on
the fishery, to be called the “ Royal Fishery of England,”
but the sum subscribed amounted only to £11,980 ; and in
consequence of the death of Charles II., the new company
which had been formed was dissolved, and it is alleged
King William did not sufficiently encourage the fishery,
from a desire to protect his countrymen the Dutch. In
what way King William did so it does not appear, unless,
in his well-known penurious disposition, refusing to furnish
funds for another undertaking. An Act of Parliament
was, however, passed in 1690, having the following pre-
amble, which proves the necessity of legislative interfer-
ence, for although the company had discontinued fishing,
they still continued to exact 10s. per last on all herrings
exported. This preamble says, “Considering that the late
Royal Company erected for fishing is now dissolved, by re-
turning their stocks and quitting the prosecution of that
trade in company as was designed in its institution, and
yet they continue to exact six pounds Scots per last of all
herrings exported forth of the kingdom, to the hurt of
their Majesties’ leges,” it then goes on to annul the former
Act, allows a drawback on the salt used of ten pounds
four shillings Scots on all herrings exported ; but while it

* Transactions of Highland Society, vol. ii. p. 295.
+ John Collins on Salt and Fishery, p. 67.

174 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY,

allows all the lieges to fish, it prohibits exportation
except by the merchants of the Royal Burrows.* This
act is as follows :—

‘ACT ANENT THE FISHERY.

‘OurSovereign Lordand Lady, with consent of theestates
‘convened in Parliament, considering that the late Royal
‘ Company erected for fishing, is now dissolved by retir-
‘ing their stocks and quitting the prosecution of that
‘ trade in company, as was designed in its institution, and
‘ yet they continue to exact six pounds Scots per last of
‘ all herrings exported forth of the kingdom, to the hurt
‘and prejudice of their Majesties lieges: Therefore their
‘ Majesties, with the advice and consent of the estates of
‘parliament, do rescind, reduce, and annul, the foresaid
‘ oift of erection of the company, called the Royal Com-
‘pany of Fishing, with the whole priveledges and im-
‘ munities belonging thereto, together with all acts, con-
‘ firmations, and ratifications thereof, and declares the
‘ foresaid company to be dissolved; discharging hereby,
‘and strictly prohibiting the exacting of the six pounds
‘ Scots for the last of herrings, or any other imposition,
‘or exaction upon herrings, or any other fishings what-
“ somever, on the account of the foresaid company, or
‘ any having their right, from the takers or importers of
‘herring, salmon, and white fishes, or any other fishes in
‘all time coming. And for the further encouragement of
‘the trade of fishing, their Majesties, with advice and
‘consent foresaid, do allow, invite, and encourage, the
‘ merchants of the royal burghs, and others of their good
‘ subjects, to employ their stocksandindustry in the trade of
‘ fishing and curing of herring, in whichthey shall enjoyall

* William and Mary, 25th April 1690, Ist Parl. 2d sect. cap. 34.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 175

‘the freedoms and advantages competent to them, before
‘the erection of the foresaid company, and particularly
‘ the foreign salt, imported and employed upon the curing
‘of fish, shall be free of excise or other duty. And to
‘ prevent all questions that may arise anent the quantities
‘of salt to be employed, their Majesties, with advice
‘and consent foresaid, do ordain the merchants exporters
‘ to have allowance, or to be repayed, by the customers for
‘ behoof of first seller and curer of the fish, who bought
‘ the salt for that use, of ten pounds four shillings Scots,
‘ for the salt of each exported last of herrings, conform to
‘ thetwelth act of the first session, of the second Parliament
‘of King Charles the second, anent excise and customs,
‘and the proclamation of the Privy Council, dated the
‘eleventh day April, one thousand six hundred and
‘ thirty-one, instead of the exemption of customs of all
‘ fishes exported, provided by the first Act of the fourth
‘ session of that same Parliament, anent the pre-exemp-
‘tion of salt. It is hereby expressly provided and de-
‘ clared, that albeit the taking of fishes be allowed to all
‘the lieges without prejudice of men’s particular proper-
‘ties, yet the exportation of fishes doth only belong to
‘the merchants of the royal burghs, conform to the Act
‘ of this present parliament, which priviledges are hereby
‘no ways infringed. And their Majesties, with consent
‘ foresaid, do recommend to the Lords of their Majesties
‘ Privy Council, to receive such overtures from the royal
‘burrows or others, and to interpone their authority to
‘ such of these overtures as they shall find to be most
‘ convenient, and to conduce most for the better curing of
‘ fishes, and for the profit and honour of the trade.’

Another act was passed in the same reign, 1693, which

176 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

orders that all herrings exported shall be packed in well-
seasoned barrels of knaple, or oak; that each barrel
shall contain eight gallons and two pints (Scots); that
the staves and heading shall be of a certain quality and
thickness, and “ free of all white wood and worm holes ;”
that the barrels be properly branded and examined, and
if found insufficient, condemned ; and that the herring
for export be made, pined, and cured with French, Bay,
or Spanish salt, or with salt upon salt, made out of
foreign salt; ‘“‘and that all herrings for export (excepting
such herrings as are exported to the Sound before the
tenth day of September yearly) be repacked, well filled
and washed ;” and that proper inspectors be appointed to
inspect all herrings exported, giving redress to the buyers
in case of defects.

‘ ACT ANENT THE LOYAL CURING AND PACKING OF HERRINGS
AND SALMON FISH.

‘Our Sovereign Lord and Lady, the King and Queen
‘ Majesties, considering how much the true and loyal curing
‘and packing of herring and salmon fish, to be exported
‘ forth of this kingdom, contribute to the advancement of
‘trade and general good of the nation, do, therefore, with
‘ advice and consent of the estates of Parliament, statute,
‘ ordain, and enact, that all casks to be made hereafter
‘for exporting herring or salmon fish be made of well-
‘ seasoned knaple or oak timber, free from all white wood
‘ or worm holes, the heads of the casks dowled, the step
‘or stave of the third part of an inch at least in thick-
‘ness, and that none of the staves be rift or clift, and
‘that ilk barrel for exporting of herring contain eight
‘gallons and two pints. And ilk barrel for exporting

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 177

salmon ten gallons, and be full hooped, at least, in the
‘one end, and have eight hoops on the other end,
‘and siklike; that these be kept in each royal burgh
‘where casks for export are made, a burning seal for
‘ marking of such casks ; and that the magistrates or dean
‘of guild of the respective burghs appoint an honest
‘cooper, for whom they will be answerable, for visiting
‘and trying all barrels made for export; and that the
‘maker of the casks put his own mark on them before he
‘sell them, and call a cooper appointed by a royal
‘burgh to try them, and if they be found sufficient, that
‘he put the publick seal of the burgh upon them, for
‘ which the said cooper is to have four shillings Scots for
‘ilk last from the maker of them; and that ilk barrel
‘ which after such trial shall be found insufficient be con-
‘ fiscated and disposed upon for the use of the poor within
‘the parish where they are made, excepting such parts
‘thereof as the respective magistrates shall think fit to
‘ give to the cooper visitor within the burgh for his en-
‘couragement ; and if the said casks shall be found in-
‘ sufficient after the publick mark of the burgh is affixed
‘thereon, the cooper who visited the same is to pay
‘ therefore six pounds Scots for ilk last, and proportionally
‘for ilk barrel; and whatever cask shall be put aboard
‘ before they be visited and marked, as said is, the same
‘are to be seized and confiscated as insufficient, and ap-
‘plied for the uses above mentioned, and suchlike; that
‘all herring and salmon for export be made, pined, and
‘cured with French Bay or Spanish salt, or with salt upon
‘salt, made of foreign salt ; and that all herrings for ex-
‘port (excepting such herrings as are exported to the
‘ Sound before the tenth day of September yearly) be re-
‘ packed, well-filled and fished ; and, in like manner, that

M

178 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

‘the magistrates in ilk royal burgh appoint an honest
‘man of judgment and skill in curing and packing of
herring, for whom they shall be answerable, to visit all
herrings exported out of their precinct, who is to have |
‘a public burning mark, and to affix the name upon all
‘casks which are found sufficiently cured and packed ;
and if any shall be found insufficiently cured and packed,
after visiting and trying thereof, they are to be seized
‘and confiscated for the uses aforesaid, and the first buyer
‘is in that case to have recourse against the curer and
‘marker of the said herring. But if the insufficiency
‘thereof be discovered at the port of discharge, and be
made appear, either by legal probation from that place,
‘ taken from the dean of guild or merchant judge, or by the
‘testation upon oath of the master of the ship who ex-
‘ ported the same, and two merchants of good fame de-
claring the said insufficiency, and that the same hap-
pened through the not right curing, marking, or packing
of the herring at first, then the merchant exporter is to
have recourse for the whole damage sustained by the
‘ insufficiency thereof against the first marker or curer of
‘the said herrings. And for rendering the said recourse
‘effectual, all owners and markers shall put their own
mark upon their casks by a burning iron ; and whatever
‘ herring are exported without the marker’s mark upon the
‘ cask, the merchant shall have no recourse for damages
‘ through the insufficiency thereof. And in case any cask
‘with herrings be shipped for export without the said
mark, the respective visitors who shall make discovery
thereof are hereby authorised and empowered to seize
‘and confiscate the same for the uses aforesaid, like as
‘their Majesties, with consent aforesaid, ordain and ap-
‘point the said visitors for the several burghs to be ad-

.

.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 179

.

mitted to that trust, upon their taking an oath de jidele
administratione, and finding sufficient caution for that
effect ; and that for their pains therein they shall have
‘six shillings Scots from the merchant or owner for ilk
‘ last to be marked by them in manner aforesaid. And fur-
‘ ther, it is appointed, for preventing all debate that may
‘arise betwixt the visitor, merchants, and curers of her-
‘rings and salmon that are sufficiently cured, upon
pretext that they are not sufficiently cured, in that
‘case, upon any such difference in burghs royal, the
‘magistrates are to call five honest men, well skilled in
‘ curing of herring and salmon, to decide any such differ-
‘ence ; and in burghs of royalty and barony, or landward,
‘the bailie of regality, or his deputies, and the baron, or
‘his bailie respectively, is to chuse the like number of
‘honest men for that end, and these five honest men are
‘ first to be sworn upon oath before they proceed to cog-
‘nosce or decide in any such matter, and the visitors
‘ shall be obliged to affix their marks if these honest men
‘ shall declare them legally cured, and that under the
‘ penalty of ten pounds Scots foties quoties, and that there
‘be an act of court, in presence of the respective magis-
‘trates, made thereupon. But in regard of the great
‘distance of some places on the northern and western
‘coasts and isles, where herrings are in use to be cured
‘and packed, from any burghs royal, wherethrough the
‘visitors cannot mark the said herrings as well and
loyally cured and packed, therefore it is statute and
ordained, that the exporter of such herrings, who shall
‘buy the same from those who cured them, shall be
‘ liable for the insufficiency of the cask,and the bad and
‘ disloyal curing of the herrings, conform to this present

‘ Act,in the sum of forty pounds Scots money of penalty
mM 2

n

n

.

n

a

180 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

‘ for ilk last of the said exported herrings which shall be
‘ found unduly cured as said is, and that by legal probation,
‘or by attestation and declaration im manner above men-
‘ tioned, to be applied to the behoof of the discoverer alle-
‘narly. And for the betteradvancing of thetrade of export-
‘ing salmon fish, their Majesties and estates aforesaid,
‘do authorise and empower the magistrates or dean
‘of guild of ilk royal burgh to put this Act, and other
‘ Acts of Parliament made thereanent, to all due execu-
‘tion ; declaring, nevertheless, as it is hereby expressly
‘ provided and declared, that neither this present Act nor
‘ anything therein contained, shall prejudice the particular
‘rights of any burgh royal within this kingdom, but that
‘ the same be reserved to them as accords of the law: and
‘ siklike, declaring that this Act is and shall be but pre-
‘ judice to the power and privileges, rights and jurisdic-
‘ tions, of the Court of Admiralty.’ *

It appears that the drawback of £10, 4s. Scots had not
been regularly paid to the merchants in the exportation
of the herrings, for in 1698 another Act was passed, or-
dering the officers of customs to pay the drawback, and
authorising the exporters to prosecute ‘ the officers of cus-
tomers” for the drawback, if not regularly paid; but itmight
have been more reasonable that the Treasury had paid it.

‘ ACT FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF WHITE FISHING AND
HERRING FISHING.

‘Our Sovereign Lord, considering that merchants and

‘ others who employ their stock upon the trade of fishing,

‘have not received the encouragement granted them by
* William and Mary, Ist Parl., 4 sec., 18th April 1693.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 181

‘ the 34th Act, 2d session, of this Parliament, in getting
‘ due payment of ten pounds four shillings Scots, from the
‘ customers of his Majestie’s customs, by way of drawback,
‘for each last of herrings and white fish exported out of
‘this kingdom: Therefore his Majesty, with advice and
‘consent of the estates of Parliament, does statute and
‘ ordain, that in all time coming the tacksmen or collec-
‘tors of his Majestie’s customs and foreign excise shall
‘ pay to the merchants, exporters of all herrings and white
‘fish that they shall export out of this kingdom, or to
‘ take at sea, by busches, or other vessels, and export im-
‘mediately, without being put on shore, the sum of ten
‘ pounds four shillings, for each last of herrings or white
‘fish so exported; and that immediately, upon the
‘ merchant exporter thus producing (at the custom-house
‘ where they reside) a bill of loading for the quantity they
‘ have exported, together with a certificate of the deposi-
‘tions, duly taken before any inferior judge, of two of
‘those that cured the said herrings or white fish, that
‘ they were all true and loyally cured with foreign great
‘salt; and in case of the collector's refusal of payment
‘upon production of the said bill of loading and certificate
‘ of depositions, then it shall be leisume to the merchant
‘ exporters to pursue them before any inferior judge for
‘ the said ten pounds four shillings per last, and that no
‘ advocation be given of any such process, or suspension of
‘decreets thereon shall pass, except on payment, and a
‘discharge produced. And his Majesty, with advice and
‘ consent foresaid, statutes and declares that all materials
‘ proper, and imported for the busch fishing, shall be free
‘of all custom and excise at their import, and that the
‘said busch fishers exporting from sea, as said is, shall be
‘allowed to prove the quantity exported, and the loyal

182 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

‘ curing, after their return from abroad, before any judge
‘competent, to the effect they may have the benefit of
‘ the said allowance, as the same shall be found due.”*

In the year 1702-3, the Dutch herring-fishery sustained
a severe loss, in consequence of being attacked by six sail
of French men-of-war ; the Dutch fleet of fishing vessels
was guarded by four ships of war, and the French having
attacked them, sunk the admiral’s ship, and the three
others fled ; the French then burned’ four hundred Dutch
busses in Brussa Sound, and from this blow it is said the
Dutch herring-fishery has never recovered.f

The previous enactments having fallen into desuetude,
in 1704, in the reign of Queen Anne, a very liberal enact-
ment was made, showing that the proper knowledge of
what was necessary was beginning to be acquired. This
allows all the subjects of the kingdom to fish herrings,
and gives free use of all the harbours and shores for
landing, on payment of the ordinary rates ; prohibits all
other exactions, such as “ a night’s fishing” in the week,
commonly called “Saturday’s fishing,” top-money, stallage,
and the like ; enacts that all the herrings shall be cured
with foreign salt; that the maker’s name of the place
shall be branded on all barrels of herrings exported, under
penalties and seizure; that they should be lable to exami-
nation, and if defective, seized, and the curers or exporters
fined; allows a bounty on exportation of £10, 4s. Scots
per last of herrings fished by the busses, and £24 Scots per
last of red herrings ; and foreign fishers employed by the
inhabitants or societies were to be entitled to the privilege
of British subjects while so employed ; it exempted from

* Will. I, Parl. 7, c. 24, 19th July 1698, t Edmonstone, p, 263.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 183

duty,“ cordage, hemp, pitch, tar, cork, plank board, knaples,
skows, hoops, Dutch netts,” and all other materials im-
ported for the use of the fishers; and that herrings
exported should be free of duty on exportation; it pro-
hibits the curing of fish with Scotch salt, and the impor-
tation of English or Irish salt, and ratifies all privileges
and immunities granted by former Acts. The following
is the Act in question :—

‘ ACT FOR ADVANCING AND ESTABLISHING THE FISHING
TRADE IN AND ABOUT THIS KINGDOM.

‘Our Sovereign Lady and the estates of Parliament,
‘ taking into consideration the great and many advantages
‘ that may arise to this nation by encouraging the salmon,
‘ white, and herring fishings, they being not only a natu-
‘ral and certain fund to advance the trade, and increase
‘the wealth thereof, but also a true and ready way to
‘breed seamen, and set many poor and idle people to
‘work, and albeit there be several good Acts already
‘made to encourage and carry on that trade, yet they
‘are either in desuetude, defective, or do not answer the
‘present circumstances: Therefore, that so great and
‘ general a concern may take effect in time coming, her
‘ Majesty, with advice and consent of the estates of Par-
‘ liament, authorises and empowers her goodsubjects of this
‘ kingdom to take, buy, and cure herring and white fish in
‘all and sundry seas, channels, bays, and firths, lochs,
‘rivers, &c., of this her Majestie’s ancient kingdom, and
‘islands thereto belonging, wheresoever herring or white
‘ fish are or may be taken, and, for their greater conveni-
‘ ency, to have the free use of all ports, harbours, shores,
‘ foreland, and others, for bringing in, packing, drying, un-

184 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

‘ loading, and loading the same, upon payment of the ordi-
‘nary dues, where harbours are built, that is, such as are
‘ paid for ships, boats, and other goods, and discharges all
‘ other exactions, as a night’s fishing in the week, com-
‘monly called Saturday’s fishing, top-money, stallage, and
‘the like; and for the better advancing and carrying on
‘the same trade, her Majesty, with consent aforesaid, or-
‘dains and enacts, that all the barrels made use of by
‘ the said fishers shall be of the largeness, goodness, and
‘ quality, and marked as is prescribed by the fifth Act of
‘ the fourth session of the first Parliament of William and
‘ Mary, and that all the herring and white fish put into
‘ them shall be pined, cured, and packed, from the bottom
‘to the top with foreign salt allenarly ; and further it is
‘ ordained, in manner foresaid, that no salmon, herring,
‘ or white fish, be shipped or transferred from this king-
‘dom to foreign countries but such as are made by the
‘ subjects of this kingdom, and marked by the seal of the
‘marker and merchant, exporter thereof, to the effect it
‘may be known who has made the same; and the collec-
‘ tors and other officers of the customs are hereby com-
‘manded to take and seize all salmon, herring, or white
‘ fish, that shall be shipped in their several precincts of
‘ exportation, unless made and marked, as aforesaid; and,
‘to prevent the counterfeiting of the foresaid marks,
‘her Majesty, with consent foresaid, does allow any
‘company, society, or single person, to use and appro-
‘ priate to themselves any particular mark to be used by

‘ them upon salmon, herring, or white fish, by and attour
«the common mark and burn of the port from whence they
‘are exported, and to registrate their taking and using
‘such a mark in the Publick Register in Hdinburgh ; and
‘her Majesty, with advice and consent of the said estates,

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 185

‘ strictly prohibits and discharges all other companies,
‘ societies, or persons, to assume or use the mark of any
‘company, society, or person so registrate, certifying such
‘as do in the contrary they shall be hable to the com-
‘ pany, society, or person, to whom the mark belongeth,
in the sum of five hundred merks toties quoties. And
‘it is hereby declared, that it shall be lawful to the
‘ sheriffs, bailies of regalities, and magistrates of burghs,
‘or any having commission from them, not only to visit,
‘on all occasions, the curing and packing of herrings or
white fish in their respective bounds, and also to pitch
‘upon any barrel after it is made up and marked up, and
‘cause break open the same, and raise the herrings, if
‘they think fit, from the very bottom, and in case they
‘be not cured or packed as above ordained, or that they
‘be broken, bruised, spilt, or not gutted herring or fish
‘among them, the said sheriffs, bailies, magistrates, or
‘others commissioned by them, after the same is clearly
‘ proven by experienced and famous witnesses, are hereby
‘ ordained to secure the whole casks where the said insuffi-
‘ cient herring or white fish shall be found; the persons to
‘ whom they belong shall pay for each last one hundred
‘merks Scots, the half to be given to the discoverer, and
‘the rest to the poor of the parish, and proportion-
‘ally for smaller quantities of such insufficient herrings
‘or white fish, and the said insufficient herring or fish
‘shall be discharged to be exported at any time there-
‘after. And her Majesty, out of her royal bounty, hath
‘allowed, and hereby allows, to the exporter of each
‘last of white fish and herring taken any manner of way,
‘and exported out of this kingdom, a reward of ten
‘pounds four shillings Scots money, in the term of the
‘ former Acts of Parliament—and for each last of herrings

-

186 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

‘taken in bushes, and exported out of this kingdom, a
‘ reward of eighteen pounds—and for each last of red her-
‘ rings exported as said is, a reward of twenty-four pounds,
‘ either to be paid to the exporter, his heirs, executors,
or assigns, by the next collector of her Majesty’s cus-
‘toms to the port from which the said herring or white
‘ fish are exported, or, in the opinion of the merchant
‘exporter, that he have retention of the foresaid allow-
‘ance or drawback in the first end of the custom, and
‘ excise of the first foreign goods imported by him, either
‘in the ship that exported the herring or white fish, or _
‘in any other ship, the export being instructed in the
‘terms of the 24th Act of the Parliament 1698, certifying
all contraveners that they shall be liable to the penal-
‘ ties contained in that Act, attour to loss of their offices,
‘and that their being incapable to be employed in any
‘ office about the customs thereafter; and further it is
‘ statute and ordained, that the execution provided by
‘this Act for recovery of the drawback of herring, shall
be extended to the proprietors and exporters of salmon,
‘cured in manner above mentioned, for the drawback
‘appointed to be given on that account by the former
‘ Act thereanent. Moreover, her Majesty, for further
‘encouragement to any who shall undertake the im-
‘provement of the herring and white fishing, hereby,
‘with advice and consent foresaid, statutes and declares
that all foreigners, or strangers, fishers, who shall be

a

n

n“

.

‘employed by any of the foresaid particular persons or
societies, and reside in this nation, shall enjoy all the
‘privileges of free-born subjects during the said resi-
‘dence; and also statutes and ordains, that cordage,
‘hemp, cork, pitch, tar, plank board, knaples, skows,
‘hoops Dutch netts, and all other materials to be im-

“

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 187

‘ ported for the trade of fishing, shall be free of custom, or
‘any other imposition whatsoever ; and that the herring
‘or white fish, taken, cured, and packed as foresaid, are
‘and shall be free of any manner of duty or taxation to
‘her Majesty in the exportation of the same. And fur-
‘ther, her Majesty, with consent, ratifies and approves
‘all former Laws and Acts of Parliament, made anent
‘the slaying and destroying of red fish, smolts, and sal-
‘mon, and hereby requires and commands the judges
‘therein mentioned to put these laws to due execution,
‘and to that effect to hold courts twice a year, Pasch and
‘ Michaelmass yearly, at the ordinary place of such court
‘ within the jurisdiction, and to punish the delinquents per-
‘sonally if insolvent ; certifying such judges as shall fail
‘ to hold courts, and uplift the fines, or punish delinquents
‘as said is, after these being required thereto personally
‘under form of instrument by any house, or other per-
‘ sons concerned, they shall be liable in the sum of five
‘hundred merks, toties quoties, to belong to the person
‘who shall pursue the judge, so failing or refusing to do
‘ justice in manner above expressed. And it is hereby
“declared, that such processes as shall be commenced
‘before the Lords of Session for that effect shall be dis-
‘cussed summarily, abiding the course of roll, impower-
‘ing the said lords to modify the expense of plea by
‘and attour the penalty. And siklike the officers of the
‘independant company, and other officers of her Majesty’s
‘customs, are hereby required to apprehend the per-
‘sons of delinquents, that may be either found guilty or
‘declared fugitive, and that upon the warrant or orders
‘ of the judges ordinary, for their serving as recruits, con-
‘form to the 33d Act of the 6th Session of King Wil-
- ‘liam’s Parliament ; and also strictly prohibits and dis-

188 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

_ ‘ charges all fishing of salmon from Saturday at twelve of
‘ the clock at night, till Sunday at twelve of the clock at
‘ night ; and because all manner of sorting fish for export |
‘with Scots salt is hereby discharged, therefore her
‘ Majesty, with advice and consent foresaid, strictly pro-
‘hibits and discharges the importation of all English or
‘ Trish salt from and after the first day of October next to
‘come, under the penalty of one thousand merks Scots
‘money, to be exacted from and paid by the seller, im-
‘ porter, and buyer, totes quoties, confiscation of the ship,
‘bark, and boat wherein it is imported, and in case of the
‘importing the same by horses, confiscation both of the
‘horse and salt, and the carrier to be fined in twenty
‘pounds Scots, and punished in his person by twenty
‘ days’ imprisonment, and any person having commission
‘ from the salt master, or any of them, is empowered to
‘ seize the said salt, ships, barks, boats, or horses, and to
‘ pursue the contravener hereof, before any magistrate or
‘justice of peace whatsoever, who are hereby empowered
‘ and required to put the same to due execution, declaring
‘that the one-half of the said fines and seizures shall
‘belong to the apprehenders and pursuers, and the
‘other half to the poor of the parish where the trans-
‘ gression is committed. Lastly, her Majesty, with ad-
‘vice and consent aforesaid, ratifies and approves all
‘benefits, priviledges, and immunities already granted
‘by any Acts of Parliament in favour of the white her-
‘ying, and salmon fishings, and all persons concerned
‘ therein.”*

The union of the two kingdoms in 1707 had a very
injurious effect on the herring fishery, on account of the
high duties on salt then introduced, the unsettled state of

* Queen Anne, Ist Parliament, 3d Session, 6th July 1704.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 189

the country, and the want of legislative protection and
encouragement. The fishery seems to have, however,
recovered some years afterwards, for we learn that, in
1710 Anstruther sent thirty boats to the fishery at Lewis
Island, and Crail had eighty boats, which went to the coast
fishing at the mouth of the Forth, and about two hundred
boats came to this fishing from other parts. In 1720 an
association was formed in Scotland for the purpose of
encouraging the fishery, and for carrying it on in busses.
This association consisted of upwards of two thousand of
the principal inhabitants of Scotland, and a considerable
sum was subscribed in £100 shares; but a great part of
the funds was expended in building large vessels in imi-
tation of the Dutch busses; and the people employed being
quite unaccustomed to, and ignorant of, this mode of
fishing, the attempt was, of course, unsuccessful, and in
a short time relinquished.*

In 1727 an Act (1 Geo. I. cap. 26, 30) was passed for
the encouragement of the manufactures and fisheries in
Scotland ; and his Majesty, under this Act, by patent dated
12th July 1727, created “ the Board of Trustees for Manu-
factures and Fisheries,” consisting of twenty-one noble-
men and gentlemen of rank in Scotland, for the purpose
of promoting these national objects. They were empowered
to appoint ‘proper and qualified persons to be wrack (a
‘German word implying selecters) and cure-masters of
‘the herring-fishery, and riding officers to oversee and
‘superintend the same.’ And the Board was also em-
powered to offer small premiums to be paid out to the
several fishermen, who, upon different parts of the
coasts, made the first discovery of herrings for the coast

* Copartnery for carrying on the Fishing Trade ; Edinburgh, 1720. Let-
ter on the Fishing Company; Edinburgh, 1723.

190 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING- FISHERY.

fishing in each season, not exceeding £100 per annum;
and the following sums were allotted :—
L.2 sterling per last for so many vessels fitted out as
bush fishing vessels, . .: LL£889 HO) HO
L.2 per ton for 4 vessels above 20
and not exceeding 50 tons, for
fishing 3 months, and L.1 per ton
for fishing 3 months longer, 360 0 0
For 5 boats, from 12 to 20 tons, to fish
on the east coast and the mouths
of the Moray and Forth Firths, 150 0 0
For premiums to fishermen who shall
discover shoals on the east of the

Forth, : 2 36 10,20
Salaries to 10 wrack ana cure-mas-
ters, at L.10 each, . 100% + O40
Salaries to 3 riding officers, L.55 per
annum each, : ‘ LG AO 0
1.2650 0460

The herring-fishery, however, seems to have been
rather neglected for several years, notwithstanding the
numerous efforts of the Board and of private individuals;
and one gentleman having, in 1734, written to the cele-
brated Dean Swift on the subject of the fisheries, elicited
a most characteristic reply, of which I have fortunately
a copy, and which is as follows :—

“ DUBLIN, 237d March 1734.
“ Sir,—I return you my hearty thanks for your letter
and discourse upon the fishery; you discover in both a
true love of your country, and (except your civilities to

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 191

me) a very good judgment, good wishes to the United
Kingdom, and a perfect knowledge of the subject you
treat ; but as you are more temperate than I, and, con-
sequently, much wiser (for corruptions are apt to make
me impotent to give offence, which you prudently avoid),
ever since I began to think I was enraged at the folly of
England in suffering the Dutch to have almost the whole
advantage of our fishery just under our noses. I love
them for the love they have to their country, which,
however, is no virtue in them, because it is their private
interest, which is directly contrary to England. In the
Queen’s time I did often press the Lord Treasurer Ox-
ford, and others of the ministry, upon the very subject.
I laughed to see the zeal that ministry had about the
fishing of Newfoundland, I think, while no care was
taken against the Dutch. As to my native country (as
you call it), I happened, indeed, by a perfect accident, to
be born here, my mother being left here from returning
to her house at Leicester, and I was a year old before I
was sent to England—thus I am a Teague, and an Irish-
man, or what people please, although the best part of
my life was in England. What I did for this country
was from perfect hatred of tyranny and oppression, for
which I had a proclamation against me of L.300, which
my old friend, my Lord Carteret, was forced to consent to,
the very first or second night of his arrival hither. The
crime was that of writing against the project of one Wood,
an ironmonger, to coin L.108,000 in half pence, not worth
the fourth part of the money, which was laid before the
people in so plain a manner that they all refused it, and so
the nation was preserved from immediate ruin. I have
done some small service to this kingdom, but I can do no
more. I have too many years upon me and too much sick-

192 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

ness. I am out of favour at court, where I was well received
during two summers six and seven years ago. The
governing people do not love me, for, as corrupt as Eng-
land is, it is a habitation of saints in comparison of Ire-
land. Weare all slaves, and knaves, and fools, and all,
but bishops and people in employments, beggars. The
cash of Ireland does not amount to L.200,000. The few
honest men amongst us are dead-hearted, poor, and out
of favour and power. I talked to two or three gentlemen
of this House of Commons, now sitting here, mentioned
your scheme, showed how very advantageous it would be
to Ireland; they agreed with me, but said that i such a
thing was proposed, the members would all go out, as a
thing they had no concern in. I believe the people of
Lapland, or the Hottentots, are not so miserable a people
as we, for oppression supported by power will infallibly
introduce slavish principles. J am afraid that even in
England your proposal will come to nothing; there is not
virtue enough left among mankind. If your scheme should
pass into a law, it will become a job; your sanguine tem-
per will cool, rogues will be the gainers, party and faction
will intermingle and defeat the most essential part of
the whole design; standing armies in the time of peace,
projects of Excise, and bribing elections, are all you are
like to be employed in,—not forgetting septennial par-
liaments, directly against the old Whig principles, which
always have been mine. <A gentleman of this kingdom,
about three years ago, joined with some others in a fishery
here in the northern parts; they advanced only L.200
by way of trial; they got men from Orkney to cure the
fish, who understood it well; but the vulgar folks of Ire-
land are so lazy and so knavish, that it turned to no
account, nor would anybody join with them, and so the

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 193

matter fell, and they lost two-thirds of their money.
Oppressed beggars are always knaves, and I believe there
are hardly any other among us; they had rather gain a
shilling by knavery than five pounds by honest dealing.
They lost L.500 a-year for ever in the time of the plague
at Marseilles, when the Spaniards would have bought all
their linen from Ireland, but the merchants and the weavers
sent over such abominable linen that it was all returned
back, and sold for a fourth part of its value. This is
our condition, which you may please to pity, but never can
mend. I wish you good success with all my heart. I
have always loved good projects, but have always found
them to miscarry.—I am, Sir, with true esteem for your
good intentions,” &e.

About this time, as connected with the herring-fishery,
there occurred a circumstance worth recording of two
eminent Scotsmen of their day; in the year 1788, the
celebrated Lord President Duncan Forbes, of Culloden,
having accompanied the great John Duke of Argyle, to
Tyree, in'the month of June, he, to prove to his Grace
what great riches his coasts possessed, privately persuaded,
against their will, but by means of a bribe, one of the
fishermen to cast his nets one night for herrings, and to
the wonder of the fishermen they got 2000 fine fat her-
rings. Next morning early, the Lord President, being
informed of the result, he, unknown to the Duke, got
some of the herrings in the manner of the, district
“nicked” and boiled in salt-water, and another dish of
herrings splitted and dressed with pepper and salt, and
broiled on the gridiron; and both these dishes were offered
by the Lord President to his Grace at breakfast. ‘‘ Dun-

can,” says the Duke, “I have often eaten herrings at dinner,
N

194 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

and sometimes at supper, but never at breakfast; but
since you have taken so much trouble to procure them, I
must try the Tyree herrings.” His Grace was so much
pleased with their nice flavour, that he ate two of the
boiled ones; upon this Forbes produced the other dish,
saying, “I hope yourGrace will taste the broiled ones,” who
answered, ‘“ Duncan, you are a most extraordinary man,
there is no resisting your entreaties.” And having par-
taken of them also, he declared they were ‘“ the most de-
licious fish he had ever tasted,” praised the Lord President
for his public spirit and ingenuity, in having allured the
fishermen to a sense of their interest, it being evident
that before this they had been ignorant of the herrings
being on the coast so early ; and it is said that the Duke
resolved to cause the fisheries to be pushed forward with
vigour; but other affairs seem to have prevented him, and
for many years the fishery on that coast was neglected.*
In the year 1749, King George II., at the opening
of the Session of the British Parliament at the close
of the year, pointed out in his address the advantages of
encouraging the herring-fishery, upon which a committee
was appointed by the House of Commons to examine and
report as to the best means of improving the white her-
ring, and other fisheries. This committee was appointed,
after a resolution of the House of Commons had been
passed, in the following terms: ‘That the carrying on,
and improvement, of the British white herring and cod
fisheries are of great importance to these Kingdoms, as
they may be of evident advantage to the trade and navi-
gation thereof, and may be a means of employing and
providing for great numbers of industrious poor ; provided
the said fisheries be carried on by a large joint stock com-
* Loch on the Trade and Fisheries of Scotland, vol. ii. p. 167.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF TUE.HERRING-FISHERY. 195

pany, under proper regulations, and reasonable encourage-
ment be given thereto ;” and this truly wise and patriotic
suggestion was warmly taken up by all classes. For
centuries the rich treasures of the deep on the Scottish
coasts were neglected, from the want of that guiding and
directing superintendence which has since so admirably
brought the treasures forth. Consequent on this royal
message, and the appointment of the committee of the
House of Commons, numerous books and pamphlets were
written, suggesting various plans, some of which it may
be worth while here to glance at. The first we shall
notice is, “ Plans and Proposals by a Gentleman conver-
sant in the Fishery, Presented by E. Vernon, Esq., 1750.”
This gentleman states, that in 1788 he joined with others,
and sent “ three vessels and two ‘ jaggers’ to fish with
the Dutch, and experienced that they could cure the fish
as well as the Dutch, and the ‘ jaggers’ got first to market
at Hamburgh and Bremen, and that the herrings sold at
as good a price as the Dutch, but that the success was
destroyed by the salt regulations ; for,” he says, “ he could
not have cleared without the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s
(then Sir Robert Walpole) recommendation to the Salt
Commissioners, to accept of such account as he could
give, and he, soon going out of power, and they despairing
of having the same altered, as they depended on his friend-
ship, they proceeded no further in it.” He objects, in his
paper, to the compelling the landing of the fish from the
busses, and suggests rules as to the salt and bounty on
the ships and herrings. He recommends the people to eat
them, and says, “ The Dutch have much the advantage in
their sanction for their selling them, besides their natural
relish of them, sparing no cost for the purchasing the

first fish, and he is esteemed very unpolite who does not
N 2

196 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

eat of them. I wish we had as good a liking to them in
these kingdoms.” He also speaks from experience when
he says, “I am very strongly persuaded the keeping the
Dutch and French in proper limits at sea would be a
great point towards the establishing our own fishery, and
without which, I very much fear, we shall never be able
to make any great progress, as they will be everlastingly
teazing and plaguing our fishermen. I must think that
no one can dispute our right, so far as our Admiralty
jurisdiction extends.” He points out some of the causes
of the superiority of the Dutch herrings, and otherwise
seems to have understood the subject. Another is—
“Scheme for Promoting the British Fisheries,” by George
Walker, who recommends the formation of a company
called the Free British Fishers’ Society, without exclud-
ing private companies or parties from fishing on equal
terms. We are here informed that at that period (1750)
“there were 1100 British sailors in the Dutch fisheries ;
and to avoid giving our allies, the Dutch, umbrage, appli-
cation should be made to his Majesty to call home all
British sailors in general” (page 20). He also wisely re-
marks, “‘ As all men are, by nature, alike, so we would all
beg, steal, and be idle, if our nature were not improved
by education ;” and he says, “it would be wise to employ
the parochial pauper boys as apprentices in such a fishery,
on certain conditions,” and points out the propriety of
modifying the regulations as to salt, the high duties on
which caused much annoyance. The next pamphlet we
shall notice is entitled, “‘To the Committee upon the
British Fishery, King’s Arms Tavern. By M. N.” This
author says, “The promotion of the herring and cod
fishery upon our coasts will increase our naval force,
civilise the Highlands, employ the poor over the whole

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 197

kingdom, and promote trade in general, as well as augment
the revenue ;” and he recommends the payment of ton-
nage bounty under certain regulations. We have next
some very useful remarks in “ Proposals for the White,
Herring, and Cod Fishery, humbly submitted by Mr
Grant.” He points out the profit to the nation by the
building of busses, and suggests that the equivalent
money appropriated by the Act 1727, amounting to
L.4000, shall be applied to improve “the boat fishing.”
Another is, “Reasons Supporting the Proposals for
carrying on the British Herring-Fishery, &c.,” by E.
Vernon, Esq. This writer says, “That the Dutch
herring-fishery, besides vessels and tenders, formerly
employed 8000 busses and 40,000 seamen, and that the
United Provinces thereby gained, according to the Pen-
sioner De Witts’ calculation, five millions sterling per
annum, and he said it was the navy of Holland that
enabled it to dispute with Spain.” . He also says, ‘‘ The
foreigners broke the attempts of the Scots some years
ago, and also that which Sir John Eyles and others were
concerned in, by underselling for a time at all markets
they can carry them to, and that, therefore, a joint stock
company is necessary successfully to stand such compe-
tition.” The next is “A Proposal on the Fishery. By
Friendly.” He recommends “the formation of a joint-
stock company, to be encouraged by Parliamentary
authority, and bounties on the fishing vessels, and remarks,
that “from such a glorious undertaking the nation in-
stantly will receive blessings, for it will certainly bring
into these kingdoms large sums yearly from foreign
nations, or else in merchandise, and increase the public
revenue.”

The author of the address “To the Committee upon

198 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

the British Fishery at the King’s Arms Tavern,” says,
“Tt is with great pleasure I observed the motion in the
House of Commons to promote the fishery on the coast
of Scotland ;” and also, “it is very desirable that every
discouragement should be removed in the first place ;” and
says “that the fishery was formerly a royalty, and every
fishing-boat was taxed according to the number of men it
employed and of the nets used, and the tax was for every
net L.10 Scots money, or 16s. 8d. sterling; and on the
accession of James VI. to the crown of England, he
granted the tax to certain of his nobles, whose descend-
ants levy it to this day ;’ and advises its abolition. He
recommends the employment of the seamen of the ships
of war discharged in consequence of the peace, and says
“that to carry on this beneficial trade, at least 400
vessels from 50 to 100 tons will be necessary, each vessel
to be navigated by ten men ;” and suggests a bounty of 3s.
per barrel on each barrel exported, and that the produce
of the fishery be divided thus. ‘That (the provisions
being defrayed out of the fish taken) the residue be
divided—one-third for the use of the vessel, nets, &c., and
two-thirds to the hands employed therein, then the fisher-
men’s proportion to be twenty-four shares, to be divided
among them in certain rates;” but he does not suggest
how the money for the undertaking is to be obtained.
The author of “A Proposal for Encouraging and Pro-
moting the Fisheries of Great Britain, and for the Rais-
ing and Increasing of Mariners for the Service of the
Royal Navy. By N. W..,” says “that the fisheries have
always been esteemed one of the best nurseries for the
training and bringing up of hardy and industrious sea-
men and that 10,000 such men, with the usual comple-
ment of mariners and landsmen, will always be sufficient

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 199

to man (of different rates) near a hundred sail of his
Majesty’s ships of war ;” and suggests a registry to be kept
of volunteers, to be paid certain rates; and recommends
the abolition of impressment.

The next to be noticed is the address “ To the Com-
mittee appointed to receive Proposals and prepare a Plan
to be laid before Parliament for Hxtending and Improving
the Fishery ; by A. B. C., Sword Blade Coffeehouse,” who
properly enough considers “ that all fishers and curers
ought to be henceforth exempted from the grievous tax
of excise or teind, as well as from all vassalage dues and
service whatever ;’ he recommends a bounty of 30s. per
ton on all vessels fitted out for the fishery ; and the forma-
tion of a joint-stock company, which should be guaranteed
and paid by the nation L.3 per cent. on all money ex-
pended ; and the building of towns and settlements on the
coasts.”

Another is “ A Scheme for Retrieving and Supporting
a Decayed Branch or Two of the British Fisheries,” by
Joseph Cockburn. He proposed “ that all strangers
fishing be kept off our coasts, not suffering any to come
nearer than in former times, or they should be obliged to
take licences from us for fishing in our district, or be
liable to seizure ;” and the granting of a bounty to en-
courage our own fisheries ; and the building of shallops of
forty-five tons each, which, with nets and provisions, he
reckons will cost each L.750.

We have ‘“‘ Some Observations on the Present State of
the British Fisheries, and Means of Improving them.” This
work describes the mode of fishing and curing then prac-
tised by the Dutch, and says, “ We want only encourage-
ment to carry this trade entirely from the Dutch, and one
of the greatest would be to make early herrings fashion-

200 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

able ; indeed, all lovers of their country ought to have
them at their tables in the month of July, if possible. He
recommends that strange ships should be kept off the
coasts, as he says ‘‘THEIR LARGE SHIPS PREVENT OUR SMALLER
ONES AND BOATS, AND DESTROY OUR NETS;” that foreign salt
should be allowed free of duty for the fisheries ; and that
a bounty should be paid on all cured fish; and the build-
ing of stores and warehouses on the coasts where the
herrings are obtained. He urges the encouraging the
Highlanders to fish, and says of them, “As to this
people’s genius for manufactures, observe their tartan and
plaid, the whole of which, from first to last, is performed
by one family; and for their mechanical genius, I appeal
to the curious arms they make.” He advises the forma-
mation of a joint-stock company to advance money to pur-
chase lands and build towns in the north, and to build and
furnish boats, and also to procure nets for the people. He
says, the people on the east coast take shares in boats, and
‘“‘ the shares are, to a man half a share, to the net half a
share, and to the boat one whole share; so that if you fit out
the boat with eight nets, which may cost in all about L.28
or L.30, you will have the five-ninths of the produce of
eight men’s labour for the season, and the other four-
ninths you may purchase at a very low price.” He con-
cludes by saying, ‘It only remains, therefore, that this
glorious desigu be pursued with constancy, spirit, and
prudence.”

The author of ‘ Considerations upon the White Her-
ring, and Cod Fisheries,” endeavours to prove that the
plan of a joint-stock company, supported by premiums,
bounties, and guaranteed interest from the nation, is free
from all objections, and that such a measure is necessary
to give employment and profit to the people who were

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 201

then out of employment; and that the encouraging the
commencement and improvement of the herring and cod
fisheries would add great wealth to the nation, and be an
admirable nursery for seamen. It appears that there had
been no fisheries of importance in 1749 when he wrote,
for he says, ‘It is very plain that our not succeeding
hitherto in any degree proportionable to what might be
expected from the possession of such advantages, has been
owing either to want of care, to want of diligence, to the
want of due regulations, to the want of a sufficient capital,
or joimt stock, and finally, ro THE WANT OF A PROPER
AUTHORITY TO GUIDE, INSTRUCT, AND INSPECT THE CONDUCT
OF SUCH FISHERIES. ‘These, and these alone, are, and must
be, the cause of former miscarriages.”

This author gives us important information as to the
obstacles the Dutch had to contend with, and of the
means they took to defend themselves, and which furnish
curious statistics as to the value of the herring-fishery
between the end of the sixteenth and beginning of the
seventeenth century. He says :—

“Towards the end of the preceding and beginning of
the last century the Dutch herring-fishery was so dis-
tressed by the Dunkirkers, then subjects of the crown of
Spain, that a tax was imposed of a florin per last, in order
to fit out and maintain a squadron sufficient to protect
the herring busses, and to block up the port of Dunkirk.
This tax produced annually 300,000 florins ;” and as the
herrings then sold from L.10 to L.20 sterling per last, but
generally about L.12, the amount of their herring-fishery
might be well computed at three millions and a half of
our money. It was at that time looked upon as certain
that the French, Emdeners, Bremeners, and Hamburgers,
took altogether about the same quantity of fish with the

202 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

Dutch, so that our seas produced to foreigners, one year
with another, between six and seven millions sterling.”

This publication evinces great talent and a masterly
command of language and argument; the following, for
instance, is a very just remark :—

‘It is impossible to devise a more natural or more effi-
cient defence for an island than to have the coasts covered
and guarded by towns well inhabited, and that, too, by
persons of considerable property, and, consequently,
equally capable and inclined to exert their utmost force
for their own preservation against foreign invaders. We
may add to these, other apparent and sensible advantages,
such as the breeding of a numerous race of hardy, active,
and able seamen and fishermen in all these ports, who,
by their labour in time of peace, will be able to maintain
and support themselves and their families, and be always
at hand to man the Royal Navy in time of war, without
difficulty or trouble. We conclude by saying, that this
noble undertaking, so long wished for, and at this junc-
ture so much wanted, may be at length gloriously accom-
plished, for the universal advantage of the British people
ought to be the sincere endeavour and the indefatigable
study, as well as the zealous and ardent prayer, of every
good citizen, who has a due concern for the interest,
safety, and welfare of his native country.”

Out of the great number of able pamphlets and books
written in favour of promoting or beginning the herring-
fishery, the last we shall notice is ‘‘ A Letter toa member
of Parliament, 1750.” The motto on the title page is an
appropriate one, from ‘‘ Thomson’s Seasons,” namely,—

“ With adventurous oar
How to dash wide the billow ; nor look on,
Shametully passive, while Batavia’s fleet

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 203

Defrauds us of the glittering finny swarms,

That heave our firths, and crowd upon our shores ;
How all enlivening trade to rouse, and wing

The prosperous sail, from every growing port,
Unchallenged, round the sea-encircled globe ;
And thus, in soul united as in name,

Bid Britain reign the mistress of the deep.”

He quotes a letter from ‘“ Loch Rogun,” stating that, in
June 1749, that loch, a bay of the sea, was full of herrings,
and that the people had not salt, casks, or materials
remaining. He hints at the probability of getting her-
rings in the Murray Firth, seeing that the salmon caught
there in August had often herrings in their stomachs;
and from his remarking that five or six hundred barrels
were cured off Anstruther in August 1749, we learn that the
periodical visits of herrings in both firths were unknown,
and had been subsequently discovered from the encourage-
ment given by the Trustees or Fishery Board of subse-
quent years. He states that there “was great plenty of
herrings last year” (1749) at Ayr; “they filled all the bar-
rels and casks they could get, cured all their salt, and
still the herrings continued.” He states, also, that in 1749
the French had several herring busses in the North Sea,
and that there were also several Swedish busses similarly
employed. And he speaks of the various attempts made
by the British nation to promote the fisheries, ‘‘ but for
what reason none have been effectual I am at a loss,” he
says, ‘“ to determine.”

He informs us that the merchants of London petitioned
the House of Commons, in 1749, for a fishery, which peti-
tion, he says, mentions “the benefit that would accrue to
the United Kingdom from the establishment of a fishery—
viz., the increasing the vent of our staple manufactures ;
the multiplying of our seamen ; the employment of a vast

204 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

number of industrious and otherways helpless poor; the
lessening the parochial and public taxes ; and improving
the national wealth.”

He then points out various localities for ee vil-
lages and stores for the fisheries on the Scottish coasts,
and gives a statement of the Custom-house duties on the
various materials required in building busses or fishing-ves-
sels, by which it appears that these duties, in the building
and fitting out one such vessel, amounted at that time to
upwards of L.150,—thus proving the wisdom of our fore-
fathers in granting bounties or premiums on such vessels,
to enable them to compete with vessels built abroad free
of duty; and he recommends that the nation should pay
four per cent. on the capital of a joint stock company, as
payment or return for the customs duties on raw mate-
rials used, but that no premium be paid if the profits
exceed three per cent.; but he suggests that, to prevent a
monopoly by such re private adventurers under
certain regulations should be placed on a similar footing,
and, to effect this, that the bounty should be 40s. per ton
on the busses fitted out.

He concludes by saying, ‘“ Upon the whole, you may
see how necessary it 1s to apply proper remedies, which
we are the more sanguine to hope, as his Majesty, in his
most gracious speech at the opening of this session of
Parliament, so strongly recommended the maintaining of
our navy, and improvement of trade in all its branches.”

All those favourable to the undertaking were truly
without experience, and the difficulties great, in conse-
quence of the erroneous laws and exactions ; but a society
soon subscribed a capital of L.500,000, and an Act of
Parliament was passed in the same year (Act 23, Geo. II.
Cap. 24, 1750), incorporating a company for twenty-

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 205

one years, and embodying regulations for the manage-
ment of the fishery. It enacted that three per cent. per
annum should be paid out of the customs to the company
for every L.100 actually expended, for fourteen years, and
a bounty of 30s. per ton on all decked vessels built or
fitted out for the fishery of from twenty to eighty tons,
said vessels to be on the east coast at the rendezvous of
Brassa Sound, in Shetland, on or before the 11th June
each year, but not to shoot their nets before the 13th
June, and continue fishing till the Ist October; the
vessels on the West Coast to rendezvous at Campbelton
on or before the Ist September each year, and continue
fishing to the 31st December, unless the loadings were
sooner completed. Hach vessel was to have a journal of
proceedings, of the quantity of fish sent to foreign mar-
kets, of the quantity brought into port, to carry twelve
Winchester bushels of salt for each last of herrings the
vessel stowed, the herrings to be barrelled in new barrels ;
each vessel of seventy tons and upwards to have two
fleets of tanned nets—namely, one fleet of fifty nets, each
net to be thirty yards full upon the rope and seven fathoms
deep, and in proportion for a vessel of greater or lesser
tonnage on board, and be provided with one other fleet of
fifty like nets on board a jagger or tender sent to attend
the said fishery, or left on shore in a proper place for the
use of such buss or vessel; each vessel of twenty tons to
have six men, and larger vessels to have one man for
every additional five tons. This Act did not exclude
others from fishing as before; other companies, sub-
scribing L.10,000, or more, were also permitted to carry
on the fishing separately with the same advantages,
but were not to have any share of the profits in the
society.

206 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

Agreeably to this Act, his Majesty's Charter of Incor-
poration was granted, 11th October 1750.*

Great expectations were raised as to the result of the
undertaking; fishermen were brought from Holland by
the society in 1750, and the curers learned the art of
preparing the herrings in the best manner; and the her-
rings thus cured, when sent to the continental markets,
were found to be of similar quality to the Dutch. But this
enterprise seems not to have succeeded, and the want of
success may be attributed to the want of practical expe-
rience in the directors, the distance of head-quarters from
the fishery, and to the death of the Prince of Wales in
1751, who had zealously patronised and promoted this
great national undertaking. It appears, besides, that al-
though the L.500,000 had been subscribed, only a small
part of the capital had been paid up.+

From the only facilities afforded by the vagueness of the
Act, frauds had been attempted by some parties endea-
vouring to get more bounty than was legally allowed; for
in 1753 it was enacted, that vessels returning from the
fishery with fewer hands than the law of 1750 required,
should not be entitled to the bounty, unless death, sick-
ness, or desertion, was satisfactorily proved, and that the
quantity of herrings sent to foreign markets should be
proved by the oath of the society’s superintendent.

In 1752, Dr James Silvis Dodd, President of the
Robin Hood Society, published an essay on the herring,
pointing out the propriety and advantage of prosecuting
the fishery, and dedicating the brochure “ to Slingsly
Bethel, President ; and Stephen Janssen, Vice-President ;

* Act 28, Geo. II. cap. 24.—Anderson’s History of Commerce, vol. ii.
p. 391.
+ Fraser’s Domestic Fisheries, p. 79.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 207

and the Council of the Free British White Herring
Fishery.” He describes the herring as highly nutritious
and medicinal, and ‘“ good for food in the plagues.” He
gives several recipes for cataplasms of herrings as being
in use at the time; and he recommends the oil of her-
rings as “ of excellent service in cramps and convulsions.”
He recommends the elixir “ osstum halecum” as “ excel-
lent in febrific cases.” His recipe for making this elixir of
herring bones is a curiosity, and as such worth quoting;
he says, “Take 10 lbs. of herring bones, dryed and
grossly powdered, put them in a retort, lute it, and place
it in an open furnace ; give it a degree of fire every two
hours till no fumes are seen in the receiver. Then let all
cool, and there will be an oil, a volatile salt, and a pun-
gent volatile spirit, which put in a clean retort, and by
fire unite together. Then take 8 ounces of this united
spirit and put into cucurbit with 2 pounds of rectified
spirits of nitre, 1 lb. of diaphoretic antimony, and 4 ounces
of volatile salt of tartar; distil and cohobate so often
till it is perfectly united; then add an ounce of oil of
nutmeg, and half an ounce of oil of cinnamon, digest in a
matrass ten days, and pour off for use, which keep in a
well stopt bottle; the dose of this is from 4 to 10 drops
whenever a high volatile cordial is necessary.”*

The fishery was still found to be less successful than
expected; and the Act 26, Geo. II. cap. 9, 1753, there-
fore, permitted the busses toreturn to port, during the fish-
ing, to refit and prepare for the Yarmouth fishery. The
depth of the nets for this fishery were not to be under five
fathoms, and the busses for the east coast of Scotland
were permitted to rendezvous at Kirkwall on or before

* Dodd on the Herring, p. 105.

208 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

the 12th September, and continue fishing to the Ist Janu-
ary, unless the loading was sooner completed ; and they
were not obliged to carry to the fishing more than one
fleet of nets.*

In 1755 an Act was passed continuing the payment
of three per cent. interest on the capital subscribed by
the society, and the tonnage bounty for three years
longer than allowed in the Act of 1750, and permitting the
society to hire out their busses to others, and giving
more freedom as to places of rendezvous, and permitting
the fishery to be carried on in any part of the British
seas. f

Another Act was passed in 1756, the preamble of which
states, ‘‘ That the extension of the British fishery is of
great importance to this kingdom, as it not only adds
considerably to the national wealth, but is moreover a
fruitful nursery of able seamen for the public service.”
It gives more liberty to our fishermen as to fishing on the
coasts of Scotland, and in using harbours, and occupying
uncultivated grounds for landing nets and material; and
permits any one, from and after the 25th June 1756, “ to
take or buy from fishermen, and cure any herrings or
other fish ;’t and it enacts that the barrels shall not be

* Anderson’s History of Commerce, vol. ii., p. 401.

+ Ibid., vol. ii. p. 408.

t This Act is of extreme importance, both to fishermen and curers; for
clause first gives free permission to British subjects to take and cure her-
rings and white fish in all and sundry the seas, channels, bays, firths,
lochs, rivers, and so forth, and for their greater convenience to have the
free use of all ports, harbours, shores, forelands, and others, for bringing in,
packing, drying, unloading, and loading the same, upon payment of the
ordinary dues where harbours are built,—that is, such as are paid for ships,
boats, and other goods; and discharges all other exactions, such as one
night’s fishing in the week, commonly called Saturday’s fishing, under a

penalty of L.100, any law, usage, or custom to the contrary notwithstand-
ing. Clause second enacts, that all and every person employed in the said

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 209

less than half an inch in thickness, or, if they are, that
they shall be liable to seizure ; and that, although by the
Treaty of the Union certain clauses implied restrictions
in the use of British salt for curing herrings and other
fish, “full liberty was to be given to use such salt, or
British salt, mixed with foreign salt ;’ but this Act most
absurdly imposed the following duties on herrings used
in this country: first, a duty of 1s. per barrel of herrings
consumed in Scotland ; then, 3s. 4d. per barrel of Scottish
herrings consumed in England; and imposed various re-
strictions and penalties as to the mode of using salt, which
duties, restrictions, and penalties, must have been vexa-
tious and oppressive, and tending to impede the progress
of the fishery.

In 1757, the Free British Fishery Society applied by
petition to Parliament, stating that they had expended
L.186,305, 8s. 6d., besides the produce of the fish caught
and the amount of the bounties obtained, and requesting
assistance from Parliament in the form of higher bounties,
and the permission to use such nets as might be deemed
most expedient. Parliament, accordingly, allowed the use
of such nets as might be thought most advantageous by
the company, and increased the bounty to 50s. per ton.

fishery on the coasts of that part of Great Britain called Scotland, or on
the coasts of Shetland and Orkney, or any of the said islands, shall have
and exercise the free use of all ports, harbours, shores, and forelands, below
the highest water-mark, and for the space of 100 yards on any waste or
uncultivated land beyond such mark, within the land, for landing their nets,
casks, and other materials, utensils, and stores, and for erecting tents, huts,
and stages, and for the landing, packing, curing, drying, and reloading
their fish, without paying any feu-land or other dues, or any other sum or
sums of money, or other consideration whatever, any law, statute, or custom
whatsoever notwithstanding ; and if any person or persons shall presume to
demand or receive any dues, sums of money, or other consideration, or ob-
struct the fishermen or other persons employed in the taking, buying, or
curing of fish, he or they shall forfeit L.100.

O

210 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

These Acts, although necessarily authorising the ex-
pending of considerable sums of the public money, had a
beneficial effect in directing the attention and the capital
of the inhabitants of the kingdom to the herring-fishery.
But although so much encouragement had been given or
offered, in this year (1757) only L.8867 was paid in
bounties, and in 1758 only 10,942 barrels of herrings were
exported.*

It required some time to initiate those employed in
the proper mode of fishing and curing; and, although the
bounties were considerable (without reference to the im-
petus given), the number of people employed and the
various materials used fully warranted the propriety of
the application of the money. Such, however, was the mis-
management of the public revenues in Scotland in 1766,
that many of those who embarked in the fisheries were
ruined in consequence of the neglect or inability of the
public officers in Scotland to pay the bounties, while at
the same time the bounties in England were regularly paid.

The bounties were truly looked on as hardly equivalent
to the heavy duties on the raw materials required in the
fishery, and in fitting out the busses, and to compensate
for the heavy fees paid the custom-house and other officers;
but the non-payment of the bounty was of most ruinous
consequences to all those engaged in the fishery, and in
consequence of this dishonouring of the bounty debentures,
the number of the busses annually decreased. For in-
stance, there were fitted out in—

I AGiaeee 3 ‘ ; : : . 263 busses.
1768 . ; : : é , P e200) do:
1769 . r ; : : i ; 89 do.
CATON Te : , § , ; dapat is js rg kay.

* Knox’s Considerations, p. 19.
+ J. Lannie Buchanan on the Fishery of Great Britain, p. 64.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 211

And, as is remarked by an able writer, “the patience and
abilities of most of the adventurers being now completely
exhausted, and the old bounties for a number of years still
unpaid, the distress which existed amongst all classes so
employed exceeded that of any former period.”*

However, the bounties seem to have been subsequently
more regularly paid in Scotland, for in one year the sum
of L.31,396 was paid for bounties to the herring busses ;
but in the year 1771 the bounty was again reduced to
30s. per ton.

Much information as to the herring-fishery in 1778 is
given by Mr David Loch, General Inspector of the Fisheries,
in a work in three volumes, on the ‘“ Trade Manufactories
and Fisheries of Scotland.” In that year he made a tour
to the west and south-east coasts of Scotland, and from
him we learn that the herring-fishery was at this time, in
some of the districts, of considerable extent and import-
ance, and which had been brought into this state from the
wise encouragement given by the nation to this important
fishery. The following were the numbers of busses fitted
out from the different ports on the west coast of Scotland
in 1777 :—

From Port-Glasgow 21 busses 873 tons
» Rothesay ON 880 ,,
», Campbelton G2.) 2,780 ,,
» other ports EOS) ¥ 53 5,520 ,,

241 busses 10,053 tons

carrying about 3000 mariners, and bringing back con-
siderable cargoes of herrings; and its importance may
be seen from the fact, that from the west coast
alone the following numbers of barrels of herrings

* Knox’s Observations, p. 46.

o 2

212 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

(each barrel measuring 314 gallons, and containing
from 700 to 900 herrings) were exported, used for home
consumption, and sent coastwise, in the year from 1st April
1777 to Ist April 1778 :-—

From Greenock.

Exported principally to the West mee : . 23,058 barrels.
Sold for home consumption, 5 : 5 WAADO™ as
Sent coastwise, . 4 ; : ; j 3 919) %,;
From Greenock, total quantity, . 5 : . 28,435 ,,
Prom Port-Glasgow, exported, . . , on PO 2 eae

and here a considerable quantity was also
sold for home consumption.

At Campbelton, in the same year, were

exported, : : , ‘ : . 8377

Sent coastwise, : ivi, Waa . 2204

Sold for home deena fat ; : . 245
— 10,886 ,,

From Stornoway, exported, : ; Beh)

Sent coastwise, 5 : : : . 3964
GGL Gy

From Isle Martin, red herrings, 500 and 800 per
barrel, cured as at Yarmouth and Dunbar, Bye 010 Ua

Total quantity, . : . 63,234 barrels.

This large quantity of superior herrings, cured in only
a few of the ports on the west coast, proves the beneficial
effect of the bounty system in calling a latent benefit
into actual and permanent existence.

The herrings were this year, 1777, abundant off Hye-
mouth and Dunbar, and were principally prepared smoked
or red. Messrs Fall had this year at Dunbar nine red
herring or smoking-houses, in which 1,200,000 could be
smoked ata time; and William Knox had three smoking-
houses to prepare 300,000; Walter Simpson had two
smoking-houses to prepare 200,000; Geo. Wilson & Co., of
Liverpool, had two smoking-houses to prepare 200,000; but
the largest of all was at Eyemouth, belonging to Richard

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 213

Turnbull & Co., in which could be smoked 1,300,000.
And this same year there were the following numbers
of boats on the Fife coast in the herring-fishery,—viz.,
from Crail, 11 boats; Cellardyke, 15; Pittenweem, 4;
St Monance, 15. But it is worthy of remark, that at
this time none of the curers prepared red herrings in
that part of the Firth.

The Scottish herring-fishery had, however, no small
difficulty to contend with in the fisheries which were
carried on by other nations. At Gothenburg, and other
parts in Sweden, a successful fishery had been carried on
for several years, and the exports were considerably more
than from this country ; and it may be useful to give a
comparative statement of the quantities exported from
the two countries in the following six years, ending with

1781 :—

Herrings exported. From Sweden. This Country.
In 1775, Ke 94,594... 33,082
2 sles pes WIS 467 coh bOMIGD
PTT, Be TaZO4Ge MISE apony7
laa: i 135,085; ... » . 32,810
L780; A 106,664 ... 25,122
wim ifs yds 136,649.00 cy TAO8e

And besides the quantity sold fresh and smoked in Swe-
den, it was calculated that in one year 1,066,000 barrels
of herrings had been boiled down in Sweden for the
purpose of producing oil; the number of barrels of oil
obtained from that quantity having been 44,000, which
were prepared at 429 oil-boiling houses, having in all
1812 boilers or kettles.

Although the fishery was flourishing in Sweden, Hol-
land seems to have had fewer busses than before, for in
1784 there were only 270 busses sent from the ports of
that country to the deep sea herring-fishery.

214 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

When the bounty was diminished, the busses again
annually decreased in number in this country, for in the
year 1781 only L.9674 were paid in Scotland for bounty,
and in the years 1779 and 1782 no bounty was claimed
for busses fitted out im England.*

And in the five years from 1779 to 1785, notwithstand-
ing all the expenditure of public money and the enterprise
of private individuals, the herring-fishery, for want of
sound legislation and judicious superintendence, had neazly
ceased to be of any importance. We can account for this
failure of the fishery to a considerable extent by the in-
judicious laws as to the times enacted for rendezvousing,
and fishing, and the oaths required to be made; for the
licenses to fish (which by statute were to be issued by the
Commissioners of Customs) bore that the fishermen on the
west coast were to proceed to the north-west Highlands,
and the oaths were required to prove that the herrings
were caught on the coasts of Scotland. These restrictions
prevented the fishermen following the herrings to other
quarters, and, as an intelligent writer of the time says,
“filed the inhabitants of the coast with indignation
against these self made legislators, after having in vain
pleaded upon the obvious words of the statutes of their
country.” But that highly useful body the “Convention of
Royal Burghs,” in 1783 took the matter into consideration,
and in a spirited memorial addressed to the Lords of the
Treasury, brought them to a right conception of the
statutes, and to issue a circular to the inhabitants,
pretending to have misunderstood the law, and releasing
them from such restrictions,—but only after serious injury
had been done.

From the irregular manner of curing herrings on the

* Highland Society's Transactions, vol. ii. Dr Walker’s Essay.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 215

Scottish coasts, no progress of any importance had hitherto
been made. Although abundance of herrings might have
been caught, the ignorance or dishonesty of the fish-curers
in preparing inferior fish, packed in unfit or inferior
packages, with inferior salt, prevented herrings from being
received with favour either at home or abroad; and at
this time itis extremely gratifying to find one of the most
scientific and patriotic of our Scottish nobles suggesting
the adoption of measures, which, having been adopted
about a quarter of a century afterwards, have raised the
herring-fishery to the highest state of prosperity. After
fully discussing the different modes of making salt, and
comparing the Dutch herring-fishery laws with our then
existing laws, the Earl of Dundonald, in his able pamphlet
“On the Manufacture of Salt and on the Herring-Fisheries,”
published 1784, says, ‘ The Dutch, in supplying the diffe-
‘rent markets, seem to pay attention to the condition the
‘fish are in, to the purity and size of the salt, and to the
‘season of the year. No such attention is paid in Britain ;
‘the season of the year, condition that the fish are in,
‘ purity of the salt, all are disregarded, and, as the say-
‘ing is, ‘all is fish with us that comes to the net ;”’ and
‘ this will always be the case until proper regulations be
‘made and strictly enforced, and until by an alteration
‘in the mode of granting, and by a diminution of the
‘present extravagant and absurd, bounties, adventurers
‘ shall be obliged to catch and cure fish in earnest, and not
‘to go fishing for the bounties.’

The wisdom of these remarks has been fully proved and
established, the abolition of all bounties and duties hav-
ing taken place, both wise and salutary laws and regula-
tions having been made, and “ strictly enforced,” under
the directions of a board of gentlemen acting gratuitously,

916 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

with practical men as inspectors on the spot, watching that
the abundant supply of wholesome food shall be properly
cured and packed in sufficient barrels ; and thus the igno-
rant or dishonest curer is prevented from destroying his
own trade and profit, and made to prepare the herrings in
the best and most scientific manner.

The encouragement offered by the bounties again
brought a number of adventurers to fit out busses, the
following being the numbers sent from Scotland in the
eight years previous to 1784 :—

1776 4 4 ; : , s 294 busses.
1777 : ; ! ; { : 240 ,,
TIBI ie Aue Ak ei acl ui eons Hoe
TORT ae ice RI ahs aaa Me aoe
L7GO ns te a ee a ate
DSTA Tm hol) sso ee) aera
1782 : , ; : i : I A
1783 : : : : Sous abs 3 le

But again we see the number of busses gradually reduced,
which we find to be owing to the many obstacles con-
tinuing in the restrictive laws and the large duties and
fees imposed on the trade.

The system of high bounties having been found inade-
quate to promote the fisheries to the full extent, the im-
portant subject of endeavouring to establish a great
patriotic undertaking became a national question. The
desire was universal at this period to bring into full ope-
ration such a system as would give employment and food
to a great portion of the population. For an average of
some years not above 26,000 barrels of herrings had been
exported. A committee was therefore appointed by the
House of Commons in 1785, who examined many wit-
nesses, and invited the opinions of those conversant with
the subject.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 217

One of the most able works written at this time on the
subject is by one of the leading merchants and curers in
Scotland, of the celebrated name of Fall,—viz., Robert Fall
of Dunbar,—and his shrewd and severe remarks on the
Report of the Committee of the Commons, appeared in a
pamphlet published in 1786. He suggested the renewal
of the bounty for buss fishing at the rate of 50s. per ton,
but proposed that 10s. per ton of this bounty should be
divided among the captain and crew. He points out the
causes of the failure of the bounty system, and objected
to the compelling by statute each British buss of eighty
tons to carry eighteen men, while the Dutch busses of a
similar size had only twelve men.

He calculated that the Government had expended from
the year 1751 to the year 1782, a period of thirty-two
years, L.316,365 sterling, and recommends that the
authorities should grant small sums to encourage boat
fishing on the west and east coasts; and there is no doubt
that he was correct in asserting that all those large sums
given by way of bounty or premiums were repaid to the
Exchequer in customs and excise duties, from the employ-
ment of the different materials liable to duty, and the
consumption of articles lable to excise, consequent on the
beneficial employment of the working-classes; and he
gives an account to prove this, which was produced to
the Committee of the House of Commons, by which it
is shown that, notwithstanding all the bounties paid,
the Government gained annually L.8398 additional re-
venue.

As this account gives the rates and amount of money
paid for bounties, and the duties paid, it is proper to in-
sert it here.

218 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

A State of Accounts between Government and the White Herring
Fishery, by Mr Maxwell.

By duty paid on materials for buss repairs annually, . L416

By do. do. hemp for repairing nets, : : : 320
By do. do. rum imported, in exchange for herrings, 12,236
By do. do. sugar do. do. do. 9,248
By do. do. _ salt used in curing herrings, . : . 162
By do. do. herrings consumed in Britain, : : 296

L.22,678

To bounty paid on 160 busses, at 30s. per ton, L.12,280
To debentures on 11,680 barrels exported,

at 2s. 6d., . ! ‘ S 3 - 1,460
To balance, being revenue arising annually
from this fishery, . : ; : 8,938
— 122,678

Besides this yearly profit, he stated that the herring-
fishery gave employment to eighteen different kinds of
tradesmen (which he enumerates), “ affords freight for
shipping, prevents emigration, and raises hardy seamen
for the service of the state.”

In the year 1786 the bounties on tonnage had been
reduced to 20s. per ton; but the bounty of 4s. per barrel of
cured herrings was continued with the understanding,
that both the tonnage and barrel bounty should not toge-
ther exceed 30s. per ton to each ship, unless the herrings
taken exceeded three barrels per ton, in which case 1s. per
barrel was to be allowed on the additional quantity caught.
Encouraged by these bounties several vessels were fitted
out by various enterprising individuals from Yarmouth ;
and eight vessels were also fitted out there, as far as pos-
sible in imitation of the Dutch busses. They were from
fifty to eighty tons, and the value of each buss and its
nets was about L.600; but, from some imaginary error
or misconstruction of the Act, the payment of the boun-

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 219

ties was the first year withheld by the officers of govern-
ment. This was to be regretted, for the herrings caught
by these ships were considered equal to the Dutch her-
rings, and arrived sooner at Hamburgh, and brought as
high prices in that market as the early caught Dutch
herrings.

The Custom-house fees were at this time (1786) oppres-
sively high, and acted in a prohibitory way on the buss
fishery. For instance, every buss paid Custom-house and
other fees,—

Clerks, Custom-house, . ‘ d : ; L110 0
Surveyor’s fees, . : ; : ; F Li DD
Admiral’s fees, : : : 5 ‘ L oY .d
For 3 boats to each buss, : : : Orb 6

L419 9
Besides duty on casks and salt, . ’ , 1 Or

L.18 19 10*

A Society was formed and incorporated by Act of Par-
liament in 1786, named, “ the Society to extend the Fish-
erles, and improve the Sea Coasts of the Kingdom,”
which has been of essential service in affording facilities
for the prosecution of the herring-fishery.t The pre-
amble of the Act 26 Geo, III. states, that ‘ the building of
‘ free towns, villages, harbours, quays, piers, and fishing
‘ stations in the Highlands and Islands of North Britain,
‘will greatly contribute to the improvement of fisheries,
‘ agriculture, manufactures, and other useful objects of
‘industry in that part of the kingdom in which the dis-
‘ persed situation of the inhabitants had hitherto proved

* Knox’s Observations, p. 186.

t At the head of this Society was the Duke of Argyle, the grandfather of

the present duke, and several of the nobility and gentry of Scotland were
members.

220 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

‘a great impediment to their active exertions; and their
‘being collected into fishing towns and villages would
‘be the means of forming a nursery of hardy seamen for
‘his Majesty’s navy, and the defence of the kingdom.’

A capital of L.150,000 was subscribed, and a commit-
tee of this Society visited personally the coasts of Scot-
land, and resolved, after full deliberation, to purchase
ground and build villages at Ullapool in Ross-shire, on
the northern coast of Scotland; at Tobermory, in the
Island of Mull, Hebrides; and at Lochbuy, on the
western side of the Isle of Skye. At these places they
soon afterwards not only built dwellings for the inhabi-
tants, but also quays and harbours, as well as_store-
houses, where materials necessary for the fisheries might
be deposited and sold to the people ; and sums of money
to the extent of L.100 to L.200 were lent to enterprising
individuals to enable them to prosecute the fishery.

At Tobermory 2000 acres of land were obtained for the
payment of L.500 for part, and L.78, 17s. of annual quit
rent, and the sum of L.4032, lds. 7d. was expended in
houses and quays. At Lochbuy 1474 acres of land were
obtained for the small quit rent of L.49, Os. 11d. per
annum, and the Society expended L.1080 on schoolhouse,
storehouses, and quays. At Ullapool 1031 acres were
purchased for a quit rent of L.50, 9s. 11d., and the So-
ciety expended about L.5000 on a harbour; the total
expenditure for it, the dwelling-houses, church, store-
houses, &c., amounted to L.7778, 4s. 8d.

The Society had subscribed or raised L.41,081, 5s. 8d.,
and expended L.22,015, 12s. 10d ; and to induce the in-
habitants of the neighbourhood to settle at these locali-
ties, building lots were given at the rate of 6d., 2d., Id.,
per foot frontage of annual rent—garden ground from one-

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 221

sixth to half an acre each on a lease of nineteen years, at
an average rate of 12s. per acre—and ground to cultivate,
to the extent of from four to ten acres, for thirty years’
lease, at an average rate of 3s. 6d. per acre—and preachers
and teachers were encouraged to settle at the differ-
ent localities. It was afterwards found objectionable to
let so much land at so cheap a rate, as it drew the
attention of the fishermen too much from the fishery ;
and the Society, in certain cases, reduced the quantity of
land given for cultivation, and raised the rate per acre,

The Society also encouraged the introduction of articles
necessary for the fishery, by lending small sums to re-
spectable settlers to purchase fishing materials, such as
casks, nets, hooks, &c., on condition that no higher profit
was to be charged the purchaser than ten per cent. ; and
there is no doubt that the benevolent intentions of the
Society has had a powerful influence in encouraging the
prosecution of the herring-fishery.

At this time there was serious injury done to the her-
ring-fishery by the illicit importation into Ireland of
Swedish herrings, and the British Society having applied
to the proper authorities the trade was put a stop to.*
The same Society interfered for the protection of the

* The fishery was so abundant, indeed, in Sweden in 1787, that there
were salted on the coasts there about 400,000 barrels, 4000 barrels smoked,
_and 4000 barrels pressed (into small compass) ; and calculating the quanti-
ties of herrings which were carried to Norway, Denmark, Holland, and
Britain, as well as what was consumed by the inhabitants of Sweden, we
shall not err in estimating that in that year there must have been fished
about 1,500,000 barrels of herrings; and reckoning 1000 herrings to each
barrel, the herrings having been of a small size, the total number of fish
would be at least 1,500,000,000 of herrings; and so much had the trade
increased in oil-boiling, or boiling the herrings down into oil, that we are
told by Von Wright, in his “ Handlingar Rérande, Sillfisket,” 1848, that

at one oil-boiling establishment at Burgebosholm, there were produced
2000 barrels of oil.

222 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

fish-curers in regard to the use of salt, the vexatious re-
gulations regarding which much impeded the process of
curing, and, accordingly, greater facilities were afforded
the industrious curer.*

The bounties having been after this regularly paid,
there were cleared out, preceding 1797, in the annual
average of ten years, 300 vessels for the herring-fishery,
the total tonnage being 14,736, and navigated by 3486
men. The average annual quantity of herrings cured was
54,394 barrels, and the tonnage bounty amounted to
L.14,760, and the barrel bounty to L.6162,—together
L.20,922, being about the rate of 7s. 6d. per barrel of
bounty on the quantity cured; there was, besides, paid for
barrel bounty on 70,428 barrels, the average annual quan-
tity caught in the ten years, the sum of L.4792, making
the total annual average quantity caught 124,822 barrels.

By the Act 35 Geo. III., the barrel bounty was in-
creased to 2s. per barrel on such herrings as were caught
by vessels, or boats not fitted out for the tonnage bounty.

The year 1793 was remarkable for the circumstance of
the discovery of herrings in the Forth, proving satisfac-
torily that vast shoals may be visiting our coasts which
are not yet discovered, and holding out every encourage-
ment to active and persevering endeavours to find out loca-
lities periodically visited by the herrings.

In that year a considerable quantity was taken; and
in the following year (1794) boats and vessels came from
many of the ports on the coasts of Scotland ; but the most
successful fishermen and curers were from Campbelton,
Rothesay, and Greenock. The advantages obtained by
this great additional supply of food were found to be very

* General Account of the British Society for extending the Fisheries, by
the Earl of Kinnoul. ‘“ Fraser’s Domestic Fisheries,” p. 95.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 223

great, and the inhabitants of London and all the large
towns participated in the addition of a cheap supply of
wholesome food, and a great accession of wealth and
prosperity flowed into the towns and villages on the
shores of the Firth. The fishing commenced in Octo-
ber, and the fish were sold then to be used fresh; and
the curers only began to salt or cure in November. The
shoals formed an oblong square, from Burntisland to
several miles westward on the north side of the Firth ; and
the herrings were caught in considerable quantities, the
fishermen fishing day and night. The herrings returned
in sufficient quantity to afford an abundant fishing for
some years, until the middle of March; and several boats
continued to fish until the middle of April, encouraged
by the prices obtained for the herrings in a fresh state,
which were sent by fast sailing vessels in boxes packed
with ice to London. They were then of the size of from the
eighth to the tenth class until January ; after that month
they became smaller and inferior, and the curer ceased
curing about the end of that month in consequence of their
inferiority. ‘There were fishery officers attending to the
efficiently curing of the herrings.

At this time the law enforced the packing of white
herrings in oak barrels, which were then considered the
best material, and by many it is still considered so,—but
a heavy duty was then paid on foreign oak, which im-
peded its use ; and as to salt, so ignorant were the legis-
lators of those days that, notwithstanding repeated ap-
plications and remonstrances, although English rock salt
was found necessary for the purpose of being used to cure
the herrings, it was then not allowed to be imported into
Scotland ; and the exactions in the form of fees to officers
of customs and excise were exceedingly heavy, amount-

994 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

ing on an average to upwards of twopence per barrel ;
and there were, besides, duties of 4s. 6d. per 100 bushels of
salt, ls. per barrel on herrings consumed in Scotland,
and 3s. 4d. on herrings consumed in England, and 2s. 4d.
per barrel on herrings brought into England from Scot-
land—so that while there was a bounty paid on buss fish-
ing, which gave an apparent advantage to those who
fitted out busses, there where heavy duties on salt and
fish, besides the duties on raw materials, which were thus
retarding the progress of the fisheries, and counteracting
the ideal encouragement conferred on the fishing in the
shape of bounties.

Nothing could exceed the lively and interesting sight
of the herring-fishery in the various sea-ports and villages
on the shores of the Firth at the time of the fishing
during the few years the shoals returned. The little har-
bours filled with boats loaded with the silvery spoil, vast
numbers of men and women conveying the herrings,
gutting and packing, or putting them in the smoking-
houses, gave a most interesting appearance to the busy
scene; and in one small town, Burntisland, there were
no less than twenty-two smoking-houses erected for smok-
ing or making red herrings. But the want of judicious
superintendence was the cause of the shoal being driven
away; herrings, like other gregarious animals, are easily
disturbed, and the fishing during the day fairly drove the
shoals off in the course of time from their haunts.

In 1801 a Committee of the House of Commons was
appointed to inquire into the state of the herring-fishery,
which committee recommended, as the principal remedial
measure, the total abolition of the duty on salt; but
this recommendation was not adopted,—on the contrary,
the duties on salt were raised.

CHAPTER II.

FROM THE APPOINTMENT OF THE COMMISSIONERS OF
THE BRITISH FISHERIES IN 1808 TO THE PRESENT
TIME.

For some years previously the commissioners for manu-
factures and fisheries in Scotland, who had been ap-
pointed in 1726, had endeavoured to promote order in the
fisheries, and had appointed officers, called fishing bailies,
at different localities, who were of some use in this capa-
city; but until the passing of the Act 48 Geo. III. c. 110,
which took effect from 23d June 1808, little had been
done to ensure success. The substance of said Act is as
follows :—

1. Every vesssel employed in the British white herring-
fishery, from 60 to 100 tons, to be entitled to a bounty of
L.3 per ton, and L.1 per ton additional to be allowed for
the first thirty vessels fitted out the first year.

2. Bounties to the amount of L.3000 to be allowed by
the commissioners for the herring-fishery to persons who
shall employ boats of not less than 15 tons, and cure and
pack the herrings according to the regulations of the
commissioners.

226 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

3. The larger vessels were to rendezvous at Bressa Sound
on or before the 22d of June, on which day they were
to be inspected; but no nets were to be set before the
26th of June, and the fishing to cease on the 1dth of
September.

4. A vessel of 60 tons was to have ten men; above
60 and under 70 tons, eleven men; and in proportion
for every additional 10 tons; and of the crew two might
be experienced foreigners. Hach vessel to have on
board, in new barrels, sixteen bushels of salt for every
last of herrings the vessel was capable of containing,
and 300 square yards of netting for every ton of admea-
surement; every mesh of the net to be one inch from
knot to knot, under a penalty of L.40 and forfeiture of
the net. The master had to state what port of Great
Britain he intended to return to and discharge, which
was to be a port where a fishery officer was stationed,
and the master was to keep a regular journal of his pro-
ceedings.

5. The nets to be shot and hauled from the vessel
without the use of a small boat, the vessel not being at
anchor while the crew were shooting or hauling the said
nets, which were to be attached to the vessel when they
were set, and the herrings to be cured on board the vessel
in barrels, and not in bulk.

6. No custom-house cocket or sufferance was to be
necessary if an officer of customs resided at the port.

7. A bounty of 2s. per barrel was granted on white
herrings, gutted and barrelled the day they were caught,
which date was to be marked on the barrel, each barrel
to contain 224 Ibs. of fish, exclusive of salt and brime.
If for exportation they were to be repacked with great
salt, the barrel containing 200 lbs. wet fish ; and the in-

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY, 227

specting officer was to certify that the herrings were not re-
packed till fifteen days expired after they were first packed.

Any person convicted of making a false oath, or fraudu-
lently marking any of the barrels, incurred a penalty of
L.50, or six months’ imprisonment.

8. The crew to receive from the owner of the buss a
bounty of 2s. for every full packed barrel of herrings, of
which 2ths was paid to the master, and 3th to the mate,
and the remaining éths divided equally among the rest
of the crew.

9. The number of trustees for manufactures and fish-
eries increased from twenty-one to twenty-eight, out of
which his Majesty to appoint seven commissioners for the
management of the fisheries, who appoint the fishery
officers, subject to the approval of the Treasury, but they
shall have been coopers and acquainted with the business.

The Admiralty was authorised to appoint a naval com-
missioned-officer to superintend, with such a force as
should enable him to preserve order among the persons
employed, and protect them from their enemies, to over-
see the executive part of the whole fishery, at any time
inspect storehouses or vessels, examine the certificates and
journals of the masters, and the manner in which the
herrings were cured; any person opposing this to forfeit
L.100; and the jurisdiction of sheriffs, and stewarts’-de-
putes, and their substitutes, is extended over all persons
engaged in catching, curing, and dealing in fish, within
their respective counties and stewartries, and also within
ten miles of the coasts of their said counties and stewart-
ries, in as full and ample a manner as the same is exercised
over the inhabitants of these counties and stewartries.

Notwithstanding the high tonnage-bounties offered by
Pa

228 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

this Act, the many restrictions as to the time and place
of fishing, the manning of the busses, &c., seem to have
entirely prevented the prosecution of the buss-fishery
from Scotland; and from England only five vessels,
averaging 50 tons, were fitted out in 1814, and manned
by fifty-nine men, which caught and cured 924 barrels of
herrings ; and in 1815 only three vessels were fitted out in
England, which caught and cured 624 barrels of herrings ;
and only one from Scotland, of 84 tons and ten men,
which caught and cured 1538 barrels.

By the Act 55 Geo. III. 694, 14th June 1815, the Act
of 1808 was altered, and so far continued and made per-
petual, and a new and separate Board of Commissioners
was appointed, and the Board of Manufactures, which had
been erected in 1727, was made a distinct or separate
Board for the encouragement and promotion of manufac-
tures.

By this Act the barrel bounty previously referred to
was repealed; and the bounty on herrings, if gutted
with a knife, and cured and assorted in a sufficient manner,
to the satisfaction of the inspecting officers, was increased
from 2s. per barrel to 4s. per barrel. Any herring-nets
used in fishing on Sunday to be seized and forfeited. The
barrels not to be made in whole or part of fir, to be half
an inch thick, and to contain thirty-two gallons English
wine measure.

The commissioners were authorised to fix the proper
modes of measuring the fresh herrings sold,—viz., by the
measure called the cran, by which the fishermen were paid.

Herrings not to be deemed gutted under the statute,
unless gutted, cured, and packed within twenty-four
hours after being taken, and to lie fifteen days in salt
before being entitled to brand.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 229

Account of herrings cured on shore to be made out by
the curer and given to the fishery officer, under a pen-
alty of L.9.

Part of the bounty might be withheld on any barrels of
herrings not gutted with a knife.

Herrings in barrels cured with fine salt, if under the
weight of 235 Ibs., free of pickle and salt, or if under 212
lbs., cured with large salt, not allowed to be exported,
and if offered or entered for exportation, to be subject
to forfeiture.

In case of dispute between officers and curers, arbiters
may be chosen.

The bounties extended to vessels fitted out to the fish-
ing on the coasts of Great Britain, Ireland, and Isle of
Man.

In terms of those two Acts before mentioned, the Com-
missioners of the Fishery Board issued, for the use and
instruction of the curers, the owners, and masters of the
busses, and of the fishermen, a distinct set of rules and
regulations, directing in what form every journal, decla-
ration, or account required to be kept or made, and fixing
the different marks that were to be placed on the barrels
when the herrings were packed. Nothing could exceed
the minute and accurate manner in which these rules
were stated ; and the Board was fortunate in having the
services for such work of a gentleman of great experience
and intelligence as secretary, namely, Mr Dunsmure.

While the British herring-fishery was encouraged,
an attempt was also made to promote the fisheries in Ire-
land, and, in the year 1819, an Act was passed for the
establishing of the Ivish fishery,* and a bounty of 50s.
per ton offered to all vessels fitted out in Ireland from 15 to

* Trish Fisheries, 59 Geo. III. c. 109, 12th July 1819.

230 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

60 tons for the herring or white fishery, and which should
continue to fish for three months, or until a complete
cargo of fish had been caught, with various proportional
rates to be allowed for cured herrings and white fish.

And a further bounty was offered of L.3 per ton of oil
extracted from white or other fish, and L.4 for every ton
of whalebone taken on the coast of Ireland.

And also a bounty of 3s. per barrel on all herrings fished
and cured on the coast of Ireland, and 4s. per ewt. on
cured cod, ling, or other white fish, to be payable to all
parties curing such, but not to those who receive the 50s.
tonnage bounties; and the following clauses are very
proper ones :—

Clause 15.—‘* And whereas shoals of herrings are fre-
quently frightened from the entrance of the bays and
ereeks by vessels mooring, and shooting the nets at im-
proper places, and by shooting long lines at the entrance
of the bays and creeks, no vessel on the coast of Ireland
shall moor or shoot nets or lines in any place forbidden by
the inspector, under the penalty of L.20.”

Clause 16.—‘‘ No net shall be shot or wet on the coast
of Ireland during the day-time, under a penalty of L.10,
nor at any time at any place, if forbidden by the inspec-
tor, under a penalty of L.20.”

The other regulations were similar to those for the
British herring-fishery, but these two clauses ought to
be made perpetual and applicable to all the British
coasts.

This Act was to be in force five years.

By another subsequent Act, 1 Geo. IV. c. 82, purport-
ing to be for “ regulating the fishery in Ireland, dated 24th
July 1820, the Act of the 12th July 1819, as to the Irish
fisheries, was altered in the following respects, —the

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 231

bounty was increased from 50s. to L.8 per ton on vessels
fitted out from Ireland to fish herrings in the open sea, the
vessels not being under 15 tons, or if exceeding 60 tons,
the bounty was not to be paid on a larger number of tons
than 60 tons.

Hach such vessel was to be supplied with 2 barrels, 3
bushels of salt, and 835 square yards of net, for each ton
measurement, as well as a suitable rope “to ride by the
nets,” and all requisite materials.

The crew were bound “ to fish in the open sea,
not in any bay, river, or loch,” and to fish direct from the
ship without the intervention of any small boat. And the
vessel was not to anchor while shooting the nets, or while
they were in the water, without sufficient cause shown.
And the crew were to fish diligently for sixty days, exclusive
of the Saturdays and Sundays, a sufficient part of every
twenty hours of each of the sixty days, and were not to ob-
struct the crews of other vessels fishing, and were not. to
leave the fishing during the sixty days without cause shown,
to be stated in the journal ; and the herrings were not to be
landed except in presence of an officer, and only once a-
week, unless otherwise compelled by stress of weather or
other cause.

The master was to keep a journal, to be verified on oath
before being entitled to the bounty, with full particulars ;
and if the nets were injured from stress of weather or
other cause, they were to be made complete at the first
port of arrival.

The bounty given by the former Act of 3s. per barrel of
cured herrings to be increased to 4s. per barrel ; and, to be
entitled to this bounty, the herrings were to be cured and
packed within twenty-four hours after being caught. And
all casks of herrings not properly cured in proper casks, if

oF te:

and

232 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

offered for bounty, tobe liable to seizure; and each barrel was
to liefifteen days before being repacked. The herrings to be
entitled to bounty were to be gutted by a knife, or the whole
or part of the bounty might be withheld. No net was to
have the meshes smaller than one inch from knot to knot ;
nor were any false or double nets to be used, under a penalty
of L.40, And no herrings were to be packed in casks made
of fir. Those offering herrings a second time for bounty to
be liable in a penalty of 4.500; and a bond was to be given
that the salt for the fishery should not be relanded. The
Act was to continue in force for four years.

The tonnage bounty on busses, with the peculiar and im-
proper restrictions enacted, did not prove suitable or advan-
tageous, and the number of vessels fitted out gradually de-
creased ; and on the 21st July 1821, the Act 1 and 2 Geo.
IV., c. 79, was passed, abolishing the bounty of L.3 per
ton on such vessels ; and in this Act were other clauses in
reference to the appointment of the superintendent of the
fisheries on the deep sea and otherways, and as to the
proper standard of the measure of herrings, called a cran,
admitting the herrings caught at the Isle of Man, or by
boats from the Isle of Man, to the bounty of 4s. per barrel,
as paid on herrings caught off the other coasts, and re-
ceived under the same regulations.

In 1824 the increasing success of the herring-fishery
at Wick or Pulteneytown, rendered it necessary that it
should be enlarged and made more safe for the numerous
boats and vessels that resorted thither at the fishing sea-
son; and the British Fishery Society, which had already
expended a considerable sum, as already mentioned, on the
improvement of the place, commenced building an outer
harbour.

The Act, 17th June 1824, 5 Geo. IV., c. 64, gradually

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 233

reduced and ultimately abolished the several bounties and
allowances from and after the 5th July 1825, which were
payable at the time of the passing of the Acts on British
and Irish caught herrings, and under the prescribed rules ;
and it enacts that the bounties should be annually re-
duced as follows: for the year ending dth July 1826, the
bounties were fixed to be 4s. per barrel; 3s. per barrel for
the year ending dth July 1827; 2s. per barrel for 1828; and
1s. per barrel for 1829, and thereafter to cease. The boun-
ties were also by this Act abolished on cod-fish, ling, skate,
&c., in the same manner and in the same series of years;
and also the bounties allowed by Act 48, Geo. IIL, c.
69, on salmon, full red herrings, clean shotten red herrings,
red sprats, pilchards, and scads, as well as the export boun-
ties on pilchards and scads, in the same proportions and in
the same series of years ; but, at the same time, by clause
eighth, all export duty on fish exported was abolished. By
clause ninth, it is enacted that the L.3000 per annum
granted by the Act 48 Geo. IIT., c. 110, to the Commission-
ers of the British Fisheries, and the L.5000 per annum
granted under the Act 59 Geo. III., c. 109, to the Com-
misioners of the Irish Fisheries, for the encouragement of
the Ivish fisheries, shall be appled “in the encouraging and
assisting the building, making, orrepai@ing of piers or quays,”
as ‘‘ shall appear to the said commissioners of the fisheries
respectively to be most fit and necessary,” and ‘for the re-
pairs of boats of poor fishermen,” “notexceeding the amount
of L.500 in any one year in Scotland and Ireland respec-
tively,” under the sanction of the Treasury; reports of
such appropriations to be annually laid before Parliament.

Most useful was this appropriation of the money for
fishing harbours, at least in Scotland. The commissioners
prepared a circular which was issued by their then secre-

234 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

tary, Sir T. D. Lauder, of the most efficient but stringent
nature. The rules embodied in this order are,—

1. That the money was only to be applied for the build-
ing of piers and quays, “for the accommodation of fishing
boats and other fishing craft, and not for any other pur-
pose, or to piers or quays intended merely for the accommo-
dation of general trade.”

2. That those wishing assistance shall send to the com-
missioners plans and specifications of the proposed piers
and quays, and stating what proportion the applicants are
willing to contribute toward the expense of the work.

3. The secretary of the commissioners shall then report
as to the utility of the proposed works for the purposes of
the fishery, and if his report is favourable, that the Board
shall send their engineer to examine and report as to the
exact spot where the harbour or pier ought to be placed,
and furnishing specifications and estimates of the ex-
pense. That these reports shall be examined by the
Board before any promise of assistance is given, and before
any contract is entered into. That part of the expense
agreed to be paid by the applicants must be lodged in the
Royal Bank.

4, That where money is allowed for such piers or har-
bours, all fishing boats and other fishing craft shall have
free access to them without being liable for any port or
harbour dues; and that before commencing the work a
bond shall be given by the applicants to this effect.

However small the amount placed at the disposal of the
commissioners, the application of it has been of the great-
est benefit to the fishermen on the exposed and dangerous
coasts of Scotland; and piers, quays, and harbours, have
been built which would never have been erected but for
the active exertions of the fishery officers in obtaining the

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 235

necessary funds from the neighbouring proprietors, and
in some cases from the hard earned gains of the fishermen
resident at such places.

As some doubts were raised whether the Act 5 Geo. LV.,
c. 64, passed on the 17th June 1824, affected the applica-
tion of some parts of the Acts previously passed, a new
Act was passed on the 16th July 1830, 1 Will. IV., c. 54,
explaining in how far previous Acts were to be applied,
and enacting that old barrels bearing an old official
brand shall not be again used for holding “any herrings
or other fish,” under the penalty of forfeiture of the bar-
rels and fish contained in them; but that the laws and
regulations applicable to the branding of barrels contain-
ing herrings should continue in full force. And a truly
Irish clause in the Act is worth referring to, to show why
the Irish fisheries were retarded, or not promoted,—namely,
clause sixth enacts that the powers conferred on the “‘Com-
missioners of the Irish Fisheries” should be transferred to
the ‘‘ Director or Directors of Inland (!) Navigation.” The
wisdom of this change, and the fitness of ‘a director or
directors of inland navigation,” may be very well questioned.

The subject of the food of the herring was at this time
brought under the notice of the scientific world by Dr
Knox, who read a paper at the meeting of the Royal
Society, Edinburgh, on the 21st January 1833; but al-
though much ability was displayed,—as may be seen in
the essay published in the “Transactions of the Royal
Society,” vol. xii. p. 503, 1833,—his assertion, that “ the
herring lives on minute entomostraca or testaceous micro-
scopic insects,” has been found to be erroneous. Con-
siderable discussion arose, and the assertion was ably con-
troverted in some of the serials about the time of the
publication of the elaborate paper by Dr Knox in the

236 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

Society’s Transactions. There was also a series of letters
by Dr Knox and the author in April, May, and June, in
the Scotsman, which it would be too tedious to give here ;
but from the formation of the herring, and the examina-
tion of the stomach of numerous specimens at various
localities, it will be found that the herring, like most
other fishes, does not confine itself to any particular kind
of food, as stated in this present work under the article
“Food ;” and, as there stated, the opinion and experience
of the author of the work was confirmed by the much
more valuable opinion of the celebrated Agassiz, who told
the author, when he met him at the first meeting of the
British Association at Edinburgh, that from the formation
of the mouth of the herring, he was of opinion that this fish
did not confine itself to any particular kind of food; and
the examination of the food of the herring and other fishes
since go far to prove this statement.

The new harbour at Wick or Pulteneytown while erect-
ing, was greatly injured by a storm in 1827, but it was at
last completed in 1834.

The successful prosecution of the herring-fishery at
various places on the east coast of Scotland, under the
protection and encouragement of the Fishery Board, en-
couraged other places where no fishery had been attempted ;
and the enterprising and laudable spirit of industry of the
inhabitants of Aberdeen, induced the authorities at that
port to offer facilities and encouragement to the fishermen
to make the attempt to fish herrings off that coast. The
first attempt was made in the year 1886, and it succeeded
beyond the expectation of the most sanguine of the pro-
moters ; and about the middle of July, of the thirty herring
boats which commenced, several caught to the extent of
ten crans at ashort distance from the shore. The herrings

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 237

were generally all full, and of an equality of size, and
well adapted for curing. The appearances were in every
way indicative of the advantage of making Aberdeen a
herring-fishery station, and the proximity of the harbour
to the sea gives better facility than at many other places.
At Fowlsheugh, near Aberdeen, the appearance of many
whales, porpoises, and aquatic birds, which sometimes fol-
low the shoals of herrings, and thus indicate in some
localities the presence of herrings, was very remarkable ;
and the procuring herrings of such superior quality so
early on this coast is of great importance, because on
the north side of the Moray Firth for instance, herrings
are not generally fished to any great extent before the
middle of August. At the fishing stations of Fraserburgh,
Peterhead, and Banff, the quantities cured early in
1836 were also very satisfactory; and the advantages of
steamers and railways must, no doubt, add greatly to the
larger demand for this wholesome and cheap species of
food, by enabling the purchaser to supply the wants of
the most distant inhabitants of the country in a state of
perfection, not previously seen at such a distance from the
fishing stations.

In the year 1836 the fishing was later than usual on
the Caithness coast, but latterly the quantity daily
caught for a short time was considerable. We were so
fortunate as to receive from the late talented poet, Mr
Robert Gilfillan, who happened to be on a pleasure tour
in Wick Bay, on the first successful night of the season,
the following graphic account of the animated appearance
off this important fishing station :—

“A more animated, and perhaps spirit-stirring scene
could not be witnessed than the herring-fishing on the
coast of Caithness. This we enjoyed to the full extent on

938 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

the evening of the 22d and morning of the 23d August
1836, off the thriving town of Wick. This town may be
considered as the grand emporium of the Caithness her-
ring-fishing, and on this occasion it presented a scene of
anxiety, bustle, and activity, which a partial appearance
of improvement in the season’s fishing, that hitherto had
been almost a failure, at this time created. The evening
of the 22d was just such a one as the most experienced
fisher could wish; a stiff, but steady westerly breeze
slightly ruffled the waters, and occasional showers of rain
gave hopes that the fish would be plentiful in the bay.
Imagine, then, as the twilight settled in, trains of boats
silently leaving the harbour, and forming, as it were, into
line along the coast for the watchful toils of the night, and
the consequent hopes and fears of the ‘coming morrow.’
Frequent and numerous as these trains were, no adequate
ideas of their numbers could be ascertained, owing to the
distance and darkness that soon surrounded them; still
we were sure that their appearance on the morrow would
be striking when crowded together under the favourable
auspices of a morning sun. But no language can express
our astonishment, when beholding from the deck of our
ship, now moored outside the bay, the far extent of
waters literally darkened with fishing boats, now busy
in drawing the net, or pressing coastwards under the
tawny sail. The aspect was at once novel and grand;
and by no great stretch of the imagination, here was a
fleet, tiny in detail, but imposing in the mass, which by
a little magnifying power might be supposed to be some
vast armament assembled to sweep the seas, or hurl their
thunder on the devoted shores. From authority which
we afterwards found to be correct, the number of boats
proceeding to the shore was between seven and eight

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 239

hundred ; these were manned by four or five individuals
each, which gives a compliment of upwards of three thou-
sand men engaged in this hazardous enterprise. Although
several instances of loss of life could be given as occurring
in bad weather, we use the term hazardous in the com-
mercial sense ; and certainly, when we state that up to this
auspicious day all their toil and watching had been pro-
ductive of no success, it will readily be allowed that it is
not misapplied. The cheers of the respective crews, as
they passed us for the harbour, told that on this occasion
they had not toiled in vain. On landing, and examining
the various boats, we learned that the take might be from
thirty to seventy crans each boat; indeed, one boat was
shown with one hundred crans on board.”
‘“‘R. GILFILLAN.”

To record the progress of the fishery in each year at
the different places, would occupy too much space in a
work of this kind; but it is useful and interesting to ob-
tain well-ascertained facts as to prices, and quantities, and
places,in certain seasons. The trade has been gradually ex-
tending, and the quality having been established under a
system, the herring becomes a useful article of commerce,
and the demand comes from distant quarters; and I shall
take one locality to illustrate these remarks. At Wick,
and the neighbouring ports of Thurso and Helmsdale, by
the 31st of August there were cured and shipped the follow-
ing quantities to the named places, making in all 69,653
barrels ; and the freights are also stated as having been
paid for the transportation of the herrings,—the price

paid for the herrings having been at the moderate rate of
21s. per barrel:—

240 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

Freights. Barrels.

n
Qu
mn

Qu

Baltic and Continental

Ports, Be On oy 3. 16,928
Belfast, 2) V4 to Zee 11,009
Bristol, 210% to. 93 20 2,605
Burntisland, 1s: 0 0 4,000
Cork, 2 9 0 0 1,900
Dundee, 1 3 0 4 830
Dublin, Bey 4a tp 2406 5,650
Dundalk, Bek tO .G 1,820
Drogheda, 2.58 0 0 1,450
Kirkealdy, Ub Aas OG 3,900
Kirkeudbright, 2 0 0240 200
Leith, 13 0 O 2,150
Liverpool, 270" to 20's: 3,780
Limerick, 210F tome: 10 1,450
Londonderry, 2 4 to. 2. 8 1,230
Larne, : 2 8 On 440
Milfordhaven, a0 oo 420
Newry, 2 4 to 2 6 4,850
New Ross, o 0 0 0 400
Port Rush, . 246 OVO 750
Sligo, 2, 16 t0.2- 68 1,300
Swansea, 3 0 0 O 500
Waterford, . 2 8 2 10 1,990
Whitehaven, 2.8 0 O 250

In a previous part of this work we have stated that the
herring shoals sometimes present a bright luminous effect
in the water and in the atmosphere ; but such appearances
do not seem to be so frequent as to teach the fishermen
that they are near the shoals. For instance, in a letter
from the keeper of the lighthouse on Sumburgh Head,
Shetland, dated 19th September 1836, published in the
“ Edinburgh Philosophical Journal,” January 1836, No.
43, p. 192, after describing a severe storm from N.E.,
which drove the fishermen from the fishing ground, to the
great loss of their nets and endangering their lives, it is

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 241

stated that ‘‘a light appeared to the fishermen which
greatly annoyed them; it appeared like a furnace standing
in the water, and the glare of the light stood to a great
height; it vanished by daylight, and appeared two nights ;
it stood so near some of the boats, that the men thought
of cutting from their nets to get out of its way.” There
can be no doubt whatever that this brilliant appearance
emanated from a large shoal of herrings near the surface.
Indeed, old fishermen on the south-east coast are quite
accustomed to the sight, but perhaps not to such a great
degree of intensity as arose from the peculiar state of the
sea and the atmosphere on the occasion mentioned.

In 1841 the herrings were rather abundant in several
of the bays or lochs on the West Coast of Scotland. At
Loch Carron there was a considerable quantity fished of
full-sized herrings, and at Loch Torridon the quantity
caught in July was considerable, first at Garvelean Island,
and then the shoal of herrings proceeded gradually higher
up. Such was the abundance of the shoal at Garvelean
Island that the nets of one boat took 120 crans in one
night. At Loch Sunart the fishing was also very large, and
the quality of the herrings was superior to that of some
of the neighbouring lochs; but at several other of these
lochs the fishery was also equally productive.

On the East Coast of Scotland the quantity taken was
generally satisfactory, and at Cromarty, where the herrings
are very uncertain, the fishery was so abundant that the
boats averaged 300 crans each.

Mr James Wilson, the naturalist, who accompanied Sir
Thomas Dick Lauder in an excursion round the Scottish
coasts in 1841, thus describes the fishery of Wick in that
year :—

‘Tn the gray of the morning we found ourselves in the

Q

242 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

very thickest of the fight.~ Many crews were making
large captures, hauling in their long extended nets glit-
tering with fish ‘as the dew of the morning,’ or, as one
of our sailors expressed it, ‘ going over the gunnel like a
white horse ;’ the surface of the sea seemed at this time
dotted all over with small dark spots. These were the
boats with their sails pulled down. As the nets are hauled
they are also shaken, so as to cause all those herrings that
are loosely meshed to drop into the boat, the rest being
disentangled when they reach the harbour. While the
boats lay at anchor by their nets they looked like motion-
less specks upon the water; and the effect was singular
and very striking when they suddenly hoisted their can-
vas, as if emerging from the bosom of the deep, and shot
away towards the shore, covering the now brightened sur-
face far and near with a multitudinous array of sombre
coloured sails. The same law regulates the morning as
the evening fishery, and they are not allowed to cast again
after sunrise. We then returned to Wick Bay, and for an
hour we enjoyed the sight of the countless boats returning
laden with their scaly treasures.”

FISHERY CONVENTION ACT, 220 AUGUST 1843, 6 & 7 VICT.
: CAP. 79.

Disputes having arisen in the English Channel as to the
rights and boundaries of the oyster fisheries of the coasts
of France and South Britain, it was resolved by the Govern-
ments of the two nations that a convention should be
entered into, and the same was signed on the 2d August
1889. And to regulate the same, as well as the cod and
ling and other fisheries, a commission was appointed, in
terms of said convention, ‘‘ to prepare a set of regulations

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 243

for the guidance of the fishermen of the two countriés.”
These regulations were prepared and agreed to by the com-
mission, consisting of Messrs Anthony Perrier and F.
Lange, and ratified by the two Governments, and an Act of
Parliament was passed on the 22d August 1843 embodying
these regulations. How far it was a wise and reasonable act
on the part of the British Government to transfer the right
of fishing herrings on the Scottish coasts beyond the limits
of only three miles from the said coasts, instead of three
leagues, the boundary maintained to be the legal and just
distance, for the purpose of obtaining some hypothetical
or fancied advantage for the English oyster fishermen, we
shall not discuss here; but that very great and peculiar
advantages were gained by the French nation by this
convention, no one can doubt. The principal heads of
this Act and Schedule of Regulations are—

The exclusive right of fishing on the coasts of the two
nations are fixed at three miles distance from low water
mark.

British and French fishermen are forbidden to fish
within such limits.

A series of numbers shall be affixed to the fishing ves-
sels of each country, with letters denoting the districts to
which they belong, of the sizes indicated by the Schedule
of the Act.

All the fishing buoys, and principal floats, and all
other implements of fishery, shall be marked with the
same letters and numbers as on the said vessels or boats.

The fishermen of both countries shall, when required,
exhibit their licences and muster-rolls to the commanders
of the fishing cruisers, and to all other persons, of either
country, appointed to superintend the fisheries.

‘Trawl fishing may be carried on between the limits of the

Q 2

944 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

two countries at all seasons, but is prohibited in all places
where there are boats engaged in herring or mackerel
drift net fishing ; and trawl boats shall at all times keep
at a distance of at least three miles from all boats fishing
for herrings or mackerel with drift nets.

Herring fishing to be free all the year round. Herring
nets shall not be less than one inch (20 millimetres)
square from knot to knot along the line.

When decked herring boats and undecked herring boats
shall commence shooting their nets at the same time, the
undecked boats shall shoot their nets to the windward of
the decked boats, except they should prefer going to lee-
ward to a distance of at least half a mile to shoot their
nets; but where the herrings are, and the observance of the
preceding regulations permits, the boats of the respective
‘countries taking part in the fishing” may fish on the
inner side or nearer the coast, but shall be responsible for
damages. All fishing vessels and boats shall remain with
their nets when set.

No boats to anchor where drift fishing is going on.

No nets of different boats when entangled shall be cut
but by mutual consent,

All fishing boats and materials picked up at sea to be
delivered up to the proper authorities, to be restored to the
owners, who shall pay compensation to the finders, if the
authorities find that they are entitled to it.

Commanders of cruisers shall detain those who infringe
the regulations, and shall decide on such if deemed right ;
but if the party refuses to comply with such decision, the
commander shall carry the boat or vessel into the nearest
port, but no boats shall be detained more than four days,
and they shall, if necessary, be sent to their respective
countries, where the case shall be adjudicated.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 240

The fishing vessels of the one country shall not use the
harbours of the other country for the greater convenience
of their fishing operations.

Herring fishermen shall comply with the laws and regu-
lations of the country where they fish as to the observance
of the Sabbath-day.

Signed at London, 24th May 1843.

The harbour which was constructed at Wick or Pulteney-
town, was in 1844 still found to be defective and insuffi-
cient, and the British Fishery Society applied for and
obtained, in 1844, an Act of Parliament authorising the
construction of a third harbour; and the Act authorised
the appointment of commissioners, for the purpose of
managing the affairs of the port. It was found that the
proposed addition to the harbour would cost L.26,000, a
sum which the limited nature of the funds of the Society
scarcely justified in expending, particularly as the patriotic
and noble-spirited men who were the shareholders, had
only been paid eleven dividends of two per cent. in seventy-
six years. The Society, however, resolved to direct all its
efforts to procure the requisite sum, for the purpose of so
improving the harbour, as might render it more commo-
dious and safe for the vast numbers of fishermen who
resorted to the fishery ; and, to obtain additional funds,
the Society sold their properties at Lochbuy at a loss of
L.1241, at Ullapool at a loss of L.2870; but at Tobermory
at a profit of L.2300.

One or two curers having been discovered in attempt-
ing to pass off their herrings as entitled to the Crown
brand, which herrings were either inferior in quality or not
assorted, or the casks not of full size, had their herrings
seized by the officers of the Fishery ; or, what was also

246 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

severe punishment, on account of the exposure, the pur-
chasers were informed of the errors or fraud, and rejected
the purchases made. In consequence of this an attempt
was nade by the guilty parties to get the Board and their
officers into odium. Some of the English members of
Parliament, ignorant of the impossibility of carrying on
the wholesale trade in herrings, of « marketable quality,
without a continued surveillance of experienced men, as
the fishery officers are, were induced to object to the
maintenance of the Fishery Board, and the inspectors
or officers; and it was thought necessary, in the year
1848, to make inquiry as to the utility or efficiency of
the Fishery Board. Accordingly, the Right Hon. J. G.S.
Lefevre was sent to Scotland to inquire and report; and
although he came to Scotland with no favourable inten-
tions regarding the system, he seems to have been
fully convinced of the great advantages of the system
carried on; and his report fully proves that he, after
the most careful inquiry and examination, was convinced
that the system was useful, necessary, and tended to
promote the success of the fishery. This report is as
follows :—

“ REPORT ON THE EXPENDITURE UNDER THE SUPERIN-
TENDENCE OF THE SCOTCH FISHERY BOARD.

““ LONDON, January 24, 1849.

‘“¢ Srr,—In obedience to the wishes of the Lords Com-
missioners of Her Majesty’s Treasury, that I should care-
fully investigate the expenditure conducted under the
superintendence of the Fishery Board at Edinburgh, in
order to ascertain how far each part of it is productive of

—

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 247

public advantage, and whether any, and if any, what
alterations are called for by the change of circumstances
since the present system was first established, I proceeded
to Edinburgh in October last, and addressed myself to the
inquiry which the Lords of the Treasury desired to be
made.

‘Tn carrying on this inquiry, in which Mr J. B. Hume
was good enough, with the sanction of their Lordships, to
afford me his useful and voluntary aid as secretary, I re-
ceived every assistance from the Board of Fisheries and
their officers which I could desire.

“They gave me the most unreserved access to their
minutes and correspondence, and the entire use of their
office and clerks; and their secretary, Mr Primrose, in a
spirit of integrity and impartiality which demands my
grateful notice, used his best exertions to collect informa-
tion for me, whether favourable or unfavourable to the
continuance of the functions of the Board.

“The expenditure under the superintendence of the
Fishery Board for the year 1847, including the annual
grants made under the Act 5 Geo. IV. c. 64, for harbours
and piers, and for materials towards the repair of fisher-
men’s boats, may be thus classified :—

1. Expenses in relation to the office in Edinburgh,—

Salaries, > , : L.965 4 0
Travelling aces ; ; 92 15 1
Law expenses, : ‘ : 1510 49
Taxes, : 3 : ‘ SS
Postage, : ‘ ; 19 17 4
Contingencies, ; ; : 61) 6
L.1208 9 9

2. Salaries and incidental expenses of the fishery officers

on the East Coast of Scotland, . : : 3185 15 11
3. Ditto, fishery officers on the West Ganst of Scotland, 1786 13
4, Ditto, fishery officers on the Isle of Man, : 133 14 2

eo

948 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

5. Salaries and incidental expenses
of the fishery officers in Bristol,

»” ” Liverpool,
» » Whitehaven,
” ? St Ives, é } ; L.1534 00
» 9 London,
” ” Yarmouth,
” » Whitby,
Sunderland,

6. ie aevelbent ape of officers assisting
at other stations during the branding

season, 5 : , EES 2s ow
Allowances for eyine snes ‘ : (aye a 3)
Making and repairing branding irons, 49 14 0
—— 23017 7
7. “ Princess Royal” cutter,—
Salary of commander, 3 ! £20070» 0
Wages of the crew, . : : DOD vw Sieg:
Victualling, &c. 5 : : 646 0 1
Repairs and furnishing, . : 145 7 5
——— 158413 1
8, Boat service at Wick and Loch Fyne, , edule
9. Remuneration to Naval Superintendents of fe eee
Lieutenant Parks on East Coast, L.100 0 O
Lieutenant Morris on West Coast, 100 0 0
—. 200 0 O
10, Expenses in relation to the harbour grants,
Salary of engineer, ’ - ELLOO0" 0
Travelling expenses, : . 7 AO) Ad
Wages and travelling expenses of
local inspectors for superintend-
ing piers and harbours, 2 SEG) Fay
—— 360 13 6
11. Harbours, j , 4 : : ‘ 2500 0 O
12. Printing and autionery, , ; : : : 125° 3 al
13. Fee for new Fishery Bill, . : 5 : ; 120, 070
14. Retired allowances, . ; : ; L738) OO
15. Materials for repair of Gbecinen S ane ; ‘ 500 0 O

“‘T shall for the sake of convenience discuss, in the first
place, the second of the above heads,—i. e., that which re-
lates to the fishery officers on the Hast Coast of Scotland

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 249

and the duties which they perform, and which are fully
described in the annexed memorandum prepared for me
by the direction of the Board of Fisheries. That memo-
randum enables me to state that the principal duties per-
formed by the Hast Coast officers consist of,—

‘A. Those which relate to the branding of herrings.
‘““ B. Those which relate to the branding and punching

aC

cain

ce BH:

of cod.

The prevention of illegal nets; illegal or improper
fishing.

A species of general superintendence over the per-
sons engaged in fishing and curing, including the
clearing out the fishing vessels when required,
the enforcement of the law requiring the painting
of the names on fishermen’s boats, and more re-
cently the enforcement of the provisions of the
Act founded on the Fishery Convention between
Britain and France.

The administration of the grants by the Commis-
sioners towards repairs of fishermen’s boats.

“ F. The furnishing statistical and other information

to the Board of Fisheries respecting the fisheries,
and regarding piers, harbours, &c.

‘“G,. The enforcement of the law with respect to the

size and materials of barrels.

“‘ Of the above-mentioned duties, it appeared to me that
those which relate to the branding of herrings first de-
manded my attention, inasmuch as if the continuance of
that system were deemed expedient, the establishment by
which it is conducted must of necessity continue, subject,
of course, to any possible reductions.

250 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

“ At or previous to the commencement of my inquiries,
various representations reached me, both from individuals
and bodies of fish-curers, which led me to believe that the
continuance of the system of branding was deemed to be
objectionable by a considerable portion even of those who
are in the habit of availing themselves of it; and some
anxiety was expressed by the more distant fish-curers
that I should personally visit Wick, and other places in
the extreme north of Scotland, with a view to inform
myself as to the opinions entertained on this subject.

‘The lateness of the season, and my other public en-
gagements, prevented me from acceding to this sugges-
tion; but in order to give all the fish-curers on the East
Coast of Scotland, who alone used the brand, the oppor-
tunity of bringing their views before me, I addressed to
them a circular letter which will be found in the Appendix
hereto, containing certain queries, framed for the purpose
of eliciting their opinions.

‘“‘ From the answers to these queries, and from the oral
replies of a considerable number of fish-curers and fish-
merchants, whom I examined when in Edinburgh, I be-
lieve myself to have procured a body of information with
respect to the effects of the branding system, sufficient to
justify me in the statement and suggestions I am about
to submit to their Lordships on that subject.

“7 will first endeavour to give a brief account of the
mode of curing herrings for the brand, and of the different
kinds of brands applied.

“Mr Mitchell, the Belgian consul at Leith, in an essay
published in the ‘ Quarterly Journal of Agriculture,’ in
Edinburgh, in June 1839, which was considered worthy
of a medal, gives a succinct description of the mode of
cure. I subjoin the following extracts :—

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 251

“¢The herrings being brought in the boats alongside
‘ the quay, or near the curing place, are lifted with wooden
‘ shovels into a wooden measure without a bottom, called a
‘ cran (which measure is branded by the fishery officer, and
must contain 86 gallons). The cran is previously placed
on the cart or place where the herrings are to be de-
livered, and upon lifting up the measure, the same hav-
ing no bottom, the herrings are thereby emptied out of
it without the trouble of tumbling them out, as would
‘ have to be the case if it had a bottom. The herrings are
then conveyed to the curing yard or shed, and are placed
in square pits or in heaps; they are then gutted (almost
always now in Scotland with a knife), by taking out the
gills and stomach, and those who cure in imitation of
the Dutch leave the appendices ceeci, or crown gut, as it
is considered to impart a richer flavour to the herring ;
they are then roosed (sprinkled with salt), and, there-
after, those employed in packing put a quantity of salt
in the bottom of the barrel, and a layer of herrings is
then closely laid together on their sides (if, in imitation
of the Dutch, nearly on their backs); and, alternately, a
‘ portion of salt and a layer of herrings, until the barrel
is properly packed. After remaining three or five days
the barrel is again opened, when the herrings are found
floating in pickle ; the superabundant pickle is poured
off, and an additional quantity of herrings to fill up the
cask is packed in; a quantity of salt is then laid on the
top of all, and the barrel is headed up, and it is then
ready for branding. According to the existing British
fishery laws, such barrels must be marked * * * to
show the month and day the herrings were taken, cured,
and packed, and the mode of gutting and the year, as
‘ well as the name and residence of the curer.

¢

-

.

nn”

952 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.
* x * * *

“¢ Hach herring barrel must not be smaller in capacity
‘ than 82 gallons, old wine measure, or 27 imperial gallons,
‘and half-barrels may be used, if of proper size. The cask
‘may be of any kind of wood (fir excepted).

* * * * 5

““« Before any cask of herrings can be branded with the
‘ Crown brand, they must lie fifteen free daysin the cask,—
‘namely, the day of their being packed and barrelled, and
‘ the day they are presented for the brand, are not counted.
‘Herrings for places out of Europe or the West Indies
‘must be repacked ; they must not be packed with the
‘ original pickle and salt, but must be washed, and then
‘re-packed with fresh pickle and salt.’

“With regard to the different kinds of brands, the
following description of them has been given to me by
Mr Miller, the intelligent inspector of the Hast Coast
Fishery.

“The Crown brand, No. 1, with the word ‘ Maties,
which is rarely used, is applied to barrels packed with
the richest quality of well-cured gutted herrings, and
from which fish full of milt or roe, and spent fish, are
excluded.

“ The ‘ Crown’ ‘ full’ brand, No. 2, is applied to barrels
packed with well-cured, selected, gutted fish, full of milt
or roe, and from which all tainted, spent fish, broken or
broken-bellied fish, are excluded.

“ The Crown brand, No. 8, is applied to barrels packed
with well-cured, but unselected, gutted fish, free from all
broken fish.

“The lozenge brand, No. 4, is applied to barrels con-
taining herrings which were formerly Crown branded as

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 253

above, but out of which the herrings have been removed,
washed, and again packed into them, with a larger portion
of great salt, preparatory to exportation out of Europe.

“The Crown brand, No. 5, with P. P., signifying twice
packed, is applied to barrels re-packed with well-cured
gutted herrings, prepared with great salt for exportation
to places out of Europe.

“ Of the several brands thus described by Mr Miller,
the second, viz., the ‘ Crown’ ‘full’ brand, is by far the
most in use.

“Mr Miller gives the following statement of the brand-
ing of 1846 :—

BromdiaNowa,) ys I 15,194
Brand, Wosi2, 6-4 : Peso nies
Brand, No.4, . : o21
Brand, No. 5, ‘ ; 1,976

‘* He also states, that of is 139,108 Crown full branded
barrels, 124,865 were exported; and, I may add, that this
exportation almost wholly takes place to the northern
parts of Europe south of the Baltic.

“The comparatively small quantity of re-packed branded
herrings, No. 3 and No. 4, are for the most part exported
to places out of Europe, and chiefly to the West Indies
and Mauritius.

«The representations to which I have alluded as hay-
ing been made against the continuance of the branding
system adverted to the general objections to which such
systems are liable. In reference to these objections, I
may observe that the practice of stamping or branding
articles of commerce by public officers, with a view to
authenticate their genuineness or good quality, which
existed in this country in respect of various kinds of goods,
has, by degrees, been almost wholly discontinued.

*

254 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

“Tt was found that, although it might secure to the
purchaser that the article should not fall below a given
standard, it tended to prevent its rising above that stand-
ard ; that it discouraged the improvements of private en-
terprise, inasmuch as it promoted a uniform limit of price
which it was very difficult to pass by any difference in
quality.

“These, and other similar objections, have been stated
in various forms by such of the fish-curers as have ex-
pressed themselves desirous that the system of brand-
ing herrings should be discontinued. These parties con-
cur in the representation that it places upon the same
level the careful and industrious curer, and the less care-
ful and less industrious, inasmuch as the price of branded
herrings at the same time and place is uniform, whoever
may be the curer, and whatever may be the pains and
care he bestows on the cure ; and this important point is
admitted by many of those who are favourable to the
branding system.

“ They further state, that the dealers who purchase at
the fishery stations make their bargains, in the first
instance, with those who cure their herrings not under
cover, but in the open air, which is not so good a process,
and who sell them at a cheap rate, and thus depress the
price of the better article.

“ They complain that whereas, in other kinds of busi-
ness, industry, skill, and honesty have their reward in in-
creased custom and better prices, this is not the case with
respect to the exportation trade in cured herrings, owing
to the levelling effect of the official brand.

“Tt is pointed out that, although the brand is by law
optional, and no one is compelled to obtain it, yet so long
as a considerable number of the trade use it, it cannot he

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 255

safely dispensed with by the remainder; and that the
delay and trouble necessarily occasioned by the conditions
requisite to be fulfilled, produce some expense and incon-
venience, and sometimes the loss of markets. They com-
plain that the detention of the herrings during the fifteen
days required before they can be lawfully branded, leads
to a large simultaneous export, which gluts the foreign
market. Some of the witnesses, moreover, have stated
that the export trade to Europe is over stimulated by the
facilities to which I shall presently more particularly
allude, and that exporters pay too little regard to the state
of the demand in the continental markets, but export at
all hazards ; and as an illustration of this practice, they
advert to the enhanced price of green, that is, uncured
fish, and they assert that the curers are at the mercy of
the fishermen. They refer to the increase of the red-
herring trade, and the improvements in that branch of
cure to which the branding regulations do not extend,
and which is conducted on the ordinary principles of com-
petition, without the artificial aid of the Government officer,
as a fair illustration of the result of placing the white-
herring trade on the like footing.

“ On the other hand, I feel bound to state, that a very
large majority of curers, measured both in number and
in amount of herrings branded by them, are decidedly
favourable to the continuance of the brand, as compared
with those who have expressed unfavourable opinions.
Of those whom I orally examined, Messrs Methuen,
Simpson, Robertson, and others, brand amongst them up-
wards of 50,000 barrels of herrings out of the total brand
of 148,000 ; and amongst the replies from the fish-curers
to whom my printed queries were sent, those who urged
the continuance of the brand (not including the parties

256 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

orally examined) represented more than between 40,000
and 50,000 barrels.

‘‘ The facts and considerations adduced in the evidence
favourable to the continuance of the brand appear to me
to support the following propositions :—

“ That of the branded herrings by far the greater por-
tion go to Prussia, and the countries adjacent to the south
of the Baltic.

“ That (unless in the early part of the season) few her-
rings are sent to these countries except under the sanction
of the brand.

“ That a high minimum of quality and cure is secured
under the system of branding, not only by the refusal of
the brand when the herrings are not duly prepared and
cured, but because during the whole process of preparing
and curing (a process so rapid in its operation, and carried
on by such large bodies of persons, as to render it very
difficult for each separate curer to watch over those whom
he employs) the fishery officer circulates amongst those em-
ployed, examines from time to time the progress of their
operations, points out defects in the cure or selection, and
stimulates the negligent by warning them of the possible
refusal of the brand. This service performed by the
fishery officers many of the fish-curers notice as being
particularly useful.

“ That the brand has the full confidence of the mer-
chants and consumers in these countries, a fact testified
not only by the replies and evidence of the great majority
of the fish-curers on the East Coast, and of the fish mer-
chants whom I examined, but also by various representa-
tions from continental merchants, which will be found
in the Appendix, No. 3.

“That branded herrings are accepted with little exami-

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 257

nation, and pass from merchant to merchant and into the
interior without the necessity of opening the barrel, except
in comparatively few instances.

“ That the brand prevents disputes as to quantity,
quality, and cure, and especially those disputes which
originate in a falling market, from a desire on the part of
the purchaser to throw them back on the seller.

“ That the currency (if such an expression be allowable)
of the branded barrels facilitates dealings in them, and
amongst other facilities it encourages advances on bills of
lading, in which the articles being described as Crown full-
branded herrings are known to be of a definite quality, and
readily saleable.

“ That the brand being an authoritative declaration of
the quantity, quality, selection, and cure, herrings can be
and are ordered by foreign merchants more freely than if
such an authentication did not exist, and they can be,
and are, purchased on the spot at the fishery station,
without any previous knowledge of, or relation with, the
fish-curer.

“ That the discontinuance of the branding system
might, at all events, temporarily alter the course of the
export trade; that some time might elapse before confi-
dence in the individual curers could take the place of the
brand.

“That at first there might be distrust sufficient to
occasion some diminution of the demand, which might be
still further diminished, if (which is by no means impro-
bable) any falling off in the cure by the inferior class of
curers were to damage the reputation of British herrings
in the continental market.

“That these results would be aggravated if an official

Government brand for Norwegian herrings were estab-
R

258 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

lished—a possibility which is adverted to by one of the
witnesses.

“ That the existing state of the continent of Europe,
and the diminution of the demand for white-herrings in
Treland, occasioned by the failure in the potato crop, render
the present not a favourable conjuncture for making a
change in the established system of the herring trade.

“The statistical information obtained from the annual
tables presented by the Fishery Board to Parliament,
which I here subjoin, bears strongly upon the policy of the
branding system :—

“ An Account of the Total Number of Barrels of White Herrings Ex-
ported to Ireland, to other places in Europe, and to places out of
Europe, for the undermentioned Years :—

To other places in To places out of

Exported to Ireland. Europe. Europe.
Years. Total.

Gutted. | Ungutted.| Gutted. | Ungutted.| Gutted. | Ungutted.

Barrels. Barrels. Barrels. | Barrels. | Barrels. | Barrels. Barrels.
1831 | 126,591| 1,866 | 31,100] ... [57,128] §13 |217,499
1832 | 113,380 757 | 47,556 --- |57,493| 1,498 |220,684
1833 | 146,771| 2,483 | 55,852 | ... |66,510| 477 |272,093
1834 | 72,682] 1,278 | 34,050| ... |49,493| 1,302 |158,808
1835 | 167,252| 1,708 | 48,451] ... |58143| 839 |273,393
1836 | 102,425 543 | 463777 --- {38,036 |) 1,484 |189,269
1837 | 137,630) 1,465 | 57,388 --» (84,142| 4,532 |235,158
1838 | 145,787| 4,139 | 64,870] ... |23,033| 1,901 |239,730
1859 | 156,045) 1,314 | 82,515 vee 11,993 654 |252,522
1840 | 147,604} 2,913 | 90,951 500 8,295 872 |250,137
1841 | 186,747| 1,206 | 91,069 | ... at ae a
1842 | 161,340] 3,907 | 119,366 770 6,336] ... 291,800
1843 | 125,521] 2,249 |181,853 | 100 | 3,793| ... |313,516
agparen h13,747 6,546 | 143,754 sinc 2,150 176 | 266,373
1845 | 124,086} 2,941 | 113,648 30 2,278 215 | 243,194
1846 98,346] 4,238 | 148,339 24 4,171 594 |255,714
1847 | 99,610] 3,080 |142,532 | ... | 3,700] 1,259 |250,181

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY,

259

‘* Abstract of the Total Quantity of White-Herrings Branded and Exported, in
so far as the same have been brought under the cognisance of the Officers of
the Fishery, from the 1st of June 1809, in the wnder-mentioned Years, when
the System hitherto in force for the Encouragement and Improvement of the
British Herring Fishery took place, distinguishing each Year, and the
Herrings Cured Gutted from those Cured Ungutted :—

PERIODS.

Period extending from
1st June 1809 to 5th

April el OMe ere
Year ended 5th April 1811
” ” 1812
A an 1815
or a 1828
: ME
” » 1830
” ” 1831
” ” 1832
ie Fo REE.
” » 1842
18435

a3 re 1844
Period extending from)
5th April 1844 to 5th
PaNGS2O Ne 6s)
Year ended 5th Jan. 1846
1847
1848

” ”
” ”

Total Quantity of Herrings

Gutted.

Cured.

Uugutted.

Total.

Barreis.
42,548

65,430
72,5153
89,9008

339,360
300,2422
280, 9332
371,096
313,1133
353, 6844
489, 6203
442,290
473, 5568

393,312
411,271

414.9152
372,989}

Barrels.
47,6373

26,3973
39,004
63,5873

60,418
55,737
48,6233
68,2742
49,547
63,2793

- 177,624

181,1293
191,803

132,7203
121,375

192,535
189,754

Barrels.
90,1853

91,8273
11,5192
153,4882

399,778

355,9793
329,557

439,3702
362, 6602
416,964
667,2452

623,4193
665,359
526,0323
532,646

607,451
562,7432

Total Quantity of Herrings

Total Exported (including Ex-

Quantity ports to Ireland, see
of preceding Table).
Herrings
Branded.
Gutted. | Ungutted.| Total.

Barrels. |Barrels.| Barrels. | Barrels.

34,701 11,0633] 24,7843 | 35,848

55,6624 | 18,880 | 19,253 38,133

58,430 27,564 | 35,256 62,820

70,0273 | 40,1003} 69,625 | 109,7253
279,317 | 210,766 893 | 211,659
254,827 | 202,0133! 3,062 | 205,875}
218,4183 | 177,776 3,8783 | 181,654
237,085 | 260,976 3,927 | 264,903
157,839% | 214,8203} 2,679 | 217,4992
168,359 | 2184292 2,255 | 220,6844
190,922% | 283,530 1,206 | 284,736
162,713 | 287,0433 4,757 291,8003
182,988 | 311,167} 2,349 | 313,5163
140,632 | 259,6513} 6,722 | 266.8733
142,473 | 240,008 3,186 | 243,194
156,2784 | 250,8573 4,856 | 255,714
146,5003 | 245,842 4,339 | 250,181

‘“« These tables appear to me to establish :—

“1, As to the foreign trade.—That the foreign trade
in white-herrings, which, since the cessation of the West
Indian demand in 1839-40, has been almost entirely con-
fined, as before stated, to the North of Europe, south of
the Baltic, and now almost wholly consists of Crown full
branded herrings, has very largely increased since 1838 ;
and I may here add, that several of the witnesses whom I
examined were sanguine as to the further extension of
the trade, and as to the increasing reputation of Scotch
branded herrings, and expressed their hope for the aid of

260 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

her Majesty’s Government in influencing other States to
reduce their import duties on this article of commerce.

“2. As tothe home herring trade, including Ireland.
—That the unbranded trade, which includes the ungutted
herrings, and consequently a large and increasing number
of white herrings, subsequently made into red herrings,
has increased very largely ; whereas the branded trade in
the home market has diminished, and is of little im-
portance.

« After giving my best attention to the facts and con-
siderations which I have above set forth on both sides of
this question, I deem it my duty to state, that if the
question of continuing the brand related only to the home
trade in white herrings, there appears to me not to be
adequate grounds for supporting it; but, as respects the
foreign trade, which is sufficiently large to be an object of
the highest importance to Scotland, the branding system
forms so essential a part of its arrangements, its abandon-
ment might cause such derangement and contraction of
that trade, and consequent loss and inconvenience to those
engaged in it, and to the large bodies of the working
classes employed, not only in fishing, but in the various
operations of curing for the European market, that I feel
compelled, notwithstanding the objection in principle to
which it is liable, to recommend that it should still be
maintained, and, as a necessary consequence, that the
establishment of the Hast Coast Fishery officers should be
continued.
~ ©T am disposed to think, however, that it may be
worthy of consideration, whether it may not be advisable
to charge a small fee or duty upon the branding of each
barrel. This would throw a portion of the expense of the
establishment upon those who immediately benefit by it,

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 261

and would thus lessen what is, in effect, a bounty on the
export white-herring trade, at the expense of the other
classes of the community. It would likewise encourage
the enterprising curer to rely on his own brand, as the
saving of this fee or duty might counteract the disadvan-
tage of his contending against the Government brand.

“T have confined myself hitherto to the discussion of
the system of branding herrings only, because the punch-
ing and branding of cod, including in that term ling, tusk,
and hake, which form another part of the duties of the
fishery officers on the Hast Coast, isasystem of comparatively
small importance. Cod are punched by an instrument
which cuts out a small defined portion of the tail of each
fish which appears to the officer to be prepared according
to the regulations and directions of the Fishery Board.
The brand for cod is applied to barrels of cod properly
pickled.

“ The quantity of dried cod officially punched has, since
1848, been gradually diminishing ; and in the year ending
1st January 1848, only 8145 cwt. were officially punched
out of 86,624 cwt., being less than one tenth, and only
955 barrels of pickled cod received the official brand.

‘Tf these small amounts are compared with the total
quantity of cod taken in the fisheries of Great Britain
only, as ascertained by the fishery officers, and set forth
in the account of the Fishery Report for 1847, the total
caught will be found to amount to 413,730 ewt.; the total
branded or punched, 9100 ewt.

“ Moreover, out of the 8145 cwt. officially punched,
59800 cwt. were from the Shetland Fisheries, and 1850
ewt. from the Orkney Fisheries ; so that, of the remainder
of the Scotch Cod Fisheries, only 1000 cwt., out of 40,000
ewt. of dried cod, received the punch.

962 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

“ These statistical results show that the continuance of
the system of punching or branding cod cannot, like the
system of branding herrings, be justified on grounds of
national importance, or as involving the interests of large
classes of persons.

“ Entertaining a strong opinion, on the grounds before
stated, with reference to the herring brand, that the
system of authenticating the quality of goods by the
agency of a Government officer is objectionable in prin-
ciple, I think that it would be much to be regretted if
any opportunity should be permitted for the growth and
extension of a system of this nature, which is at present
very limited, that is, the punching and branding of cod.
Its discontinuance would now be easy ; but if it were to
come into general use the same difficulties would arise in
terminating it which now exist in the case of the herring
branding system. I must further state, that although on
the Hast Coast of Scotland the extension of the punching
of cod might not create an increase of the Fishery officers,
yet on the West Coast it would require more to be kept up
than would otherwise be necessary. Accordingly, I ven-
ture to suggest that the system of punching and branding
cod may be discontinued, subject to such precautions, in
Orkney and Shetland, as the interests and requirements
of these islands, to which I shall more particularly allude
on a subsequent occasion, may render advisable. (See
Appendix.)

‘“‘ Before quitting the subject of branding, it is proper
that I should remark, that the extent to which the brand
is used must not be regarded by any means as indicating
the whole of the services or utility of the Fishery officers
as to the preparation and cure of fish.

‘‘ A considerable number of barrels of herrings are cured

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 263

as for the brand, although it is not applied for unless they
are intended for exportation.

“* Moreover, the curer who uses the brand cures his fish
together, whether intended to be branded or not ; and the
Fishery officer, from time to time, inspects the process,
and endeavours to prevent defects and to promote improve-
ments.

“ Tn estimating the advantage or disadvantage of the
branding system, this indirect effect of it must not be lost
sight of.

‘““ Having arrived at the conviction of the necessity of
maintaining at present the system of branding herrings,
it appears to me that this would of itself require the con-
tinuance of the Fishery Board, independently of the
question of the general utility of that establishment. I
conceive that the superintendence of that system, and of
the officers conducting it, could not be better or more
satisfactorily exercised than by that Board, which is
thoroughly conversant with the subject as respects the
Scotch fisheries, to which the branding system is practi-
cally limited, and far more conveniently situate than any
central Board in London.

“‘ Had I deemed it right to recommend the abolishing
of the system of branding herrings, it would have been
my duty to have entered upon the task of weighing the
value of the remaining functions of the Board against
the expenses of its establishment. Although relieved
from this question, yet having had the opportunity of
inspecting the correspondence and proceedings of this
Board, it would be unjust not to take this opportunity of
adverting to the important services which the Commis-
sioners, acting themselves gratuitously, and with a mode-
rate establishment, have rendered to the public, in assist-

264 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

ing for a long period of years in the development of this
branch of national industry, and of expressing my belief,
that in the present condition of the poorer classes in Scot-
land, the question of the continuance of the Board of
Fisheries is not merely to be regarded in reference to
measures of economy,—that it is impossible to doubt the
social and moral advantages which may and do result to
this class of the population from the attention bestowed
upon their welfare by a body of eminent persons distin-
guished by their rank, position, and knowledge, and who
are constantly endeavouring to obtain and disseminate in-
formation useful to those employed in the fisheries, to en-
courage their enterprise, to stimulate their industry, and
to promote their physical and moral welfare.

‘* Although sensible of the value of the Fishery Board,
and of the advisability of its continuance, I confess that
I think considerable reduction and economy might be
made in the expenditure under its control without impair-
ing its efficiency. I allude especially to the possibility of
considerably diminishing the number of the West Coast
officers, and gradually discontinuing altogether the officers
employed in England ; and also to the making improved
and economical arrangements forthe naval superintendence
of the fisheries, both with regard to the vessels of war and
the fishery cutter. Upon these and other points involved
in this subject, regarding some of which I desire further
information, I shall offer suggestions in a separate Report,
a course which I venture to adopt to avoid the incon-
venience of delaying the expression of my views as to the
principal matters in the case,—namely, the continuance
of the branding system and the Fishery Board.—I have
the honour to be,” &c.

(Signed) ‘“‘ JoHN GrorGE SHAw LEFEVRE.”

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 265

4th Dec. 1850.—The great abundance of young herrings
coming among the sprats in certain seasons, afforded an
easy supply to those indolent fishermen, at some localities,
who did not follow the legitimate mode, and consequently
these men prepared nets with small meshes, which en-
circleda great proportion of the young, or fry, of the herring,
threatening the destruction of the proper sized herrings.
The Board having had many complaints from different
quarters, even from the fishermen who fished the herrings
in a legal manner, wished to put a stop to such illegal
fishing, and directed their several superintendents to
apply the Act 48 Geo. III. cap. 110, which prohibits
using such nets, under a penalty of L.20 and the seizure
of the nets; and as fishermen were enabled the more
easily to escape the penalties, in consequence of the boats
or fishing vessels not having the name on them, the Board,
of this date, directed a notice to be given to the fishermen,
that if the boats had not the name printed on them in
legal form the same would be seized.

By the Act of 24th July 1851, 14 and 15 Vict. cap. 26,
the law which required the cured white herrings to lie in
the casks for fifteen free days was repealed, and the com-
missioners empowered to fix any other period, and they
accordingly reduced the time to ten days. In this Acta
penalty is applied to the illegally branding empty herring
barrels as well as full barrels; and, by this Act, the law
is repealed which required that herrings exported to
places out of Europe should be repacked with great salt.
And it repeals the law prohibiting the exportation of
herrings in barrels under size, if shipped before the expiry
of the ten days after being packed, or in salt unbranded.

It is also enacted by sect. 6, ‘ That wherever the
herring fishery is commenced or carried on,’ no other

266 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

nets shall be used than the usual drift nets; and if any
others are used for trawling or otherwise, or found in the
possession of any one on shore, or on board ship, the same
shall be liable to forfeiture. And by this Act no baskets
are permitted to be used in measuring and delivering fresh
herrings, but such as are one fourth of the legal cran
measure, or an integral portion of such measure, under the
penalties applied to the using crans of illegal measure.

The early fishing of herrings at the Lewis Islands had
become by this time of some importance, although the
nature of the herring, from their peculiar richness and diffi-
culty of cure, makes the business rather hazardous. Such
herrings generally, however, if in good condition, obtain
high prices when brought early to market; for instance,
a cargo of new herrings arrived at Stettin on the 21st of
May 1851, and sold for from 18 to 15 rix-dollars, or
from 39s. to 45s. per barrel ; but by the end of July 5700
barrels had arrived at Stettin, and the price had declined
by that time to 8 rix-dollars, or 24s. per barrel. But so
large is the demand for the interior of Germany, that 105,500
barrels of Scottish herrings were imported into Stettin
in 1851, besides 26,500 barrels of Norwegian herrings.

We have already referred to the attempt to interfere
with the system of superintendence and inspection under
the Fishery Board; and in strong confirmation of Mr
Lefevre’s Report, we are glad to refer to the accom-
panying letter addressed to George Traill, Esq., M.P., in
1851, from one of the principal merchants in Stettin,
distinctly proving, that if the system is departed from,
the demand for the article will decline, and the fishery be
injured, and gradually destroyed :—

« Sir,—I would have fulfilled my promise much sooner,

EE a,

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 267

and have given you the desired information regarding the
herring trade of our port, had I not been unwell since my
arrival here; but, having recovered so far, I take this
opportunity of stating that the official brand of Scotch
Crown and Full branded herrings obtains the greatest
confidence, not only in our market, but also in the interior
of Germany, where the meaning of that brand is under-
stood ; and my firm belief, and also that of other people
engaged in this branch of business is, that it would be
injurious to the trade should the brand cease to exist, for
Scotch herrings are only sold in small quantities in this
market and the neighbourhood; they are chiefly sent
great distances of from 100 to 800 miles English, into the
interior of Germany and Poland, either by orders or offers,
without the assistance of commission merchants, for the
great expense of forwarding them does not permit any
commission to a third party. The great distance prevents,
likewise, dealers from inspecting the herrings on the spot
here, who therefore make their purchases solely on their
trust in the official brand, knowing that the fish must be
selected well and properly cured—that the barrels be of
the legal size—and that they require to be well and
tightly made before the brand can be affixed.

“These herrings are generally forwarded by crafts,
which are often six to eight weeks on their passage, and
it frequently happens that a great fall in the market takes
place during that time, and, should the official brand be
removed, dealers in the interior might easily take advan-
tage of such falls, for it would not be difficult to find com-
plaints,—such, for instance, that the fish were not properly
selected or well cured, that the fish had too much or too
little salt, or that the barrels were of a smaller size (for
no one can then say of what size the barrels require to

268 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

be) ; and as most herrings are sold on credit, they would,
consequently, be often stored at the risk and the expense
of the shipper, and, perhaps, in markets where that person
who purchased them is the only dealer.

“When a party purchases Crown and Full branded
herrings at present, he is bound to receive them, if they
bear that brand, independent of the quality; and our
courts of justice have frequently given their decision in
accordance with this statement, upon the ground that the
British Fishery Board is a Government establishment, and,
therefore, reliance can be placed in their impartial inspec-
tion and strict superintendence.

“ Part of the present business consists of consignments
by the curer in Scotland, who receives an advance when
the herrings are shipped; and my opinion is, that this
advance will cease to be given as soon as the official
brand is removed, as our merchants here are then unable
to judge what proceeds they will receive out of them when
sent to the interior; and, consequently, the Scotch curer
must feel it seriously whenever this brand is taken away,
as he would not be able to embark so much capital, and
from him it must show its influence upon the fishermen,
and those people connected with the fishing.

“ Norwegian herrings are not cured under the superin-
tendence of the Norwegian Government, and as no
reliance can be placed in their quality, they are seldom or
never sent to the interior, but are chiefly consumed here
and in the neighbouring provinces, from whence dealers
are able to proceed for an inspection; and hence Norwegian
fish are generally more difficult to be sold than Scotch.
At some places in Norway local Boards have been
formed, and herrings shipped from these ports find
quicker sales, and are also sent to the interior.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 269

“The sale of Norwegian herrings greatly depends upon
the prices of Scotch fish, for when the price of the latter
is low, the former is more difficult to be disposed of; and
even people of this place and those of the neighbouring
provinces prefer Scotch herrings to those of the Nor-
wegian cure, because the fish is of a superior quality,
better cured, and the barrel contains more fish,

“Dutch herrings are in cure better than Scotch, but
the difference between the two sorts is too great in price,
and therefore Scotch herrings find the preference.

“The cheapness and the improved cure has increased
the importation of Scotch herrings into our port to a
great extent, for there is no port to which more Scotch
herrings are shipped than Stettin, whilst the importation
of Dutch and Norwegian fish has diminished, for we
have imported in the year 1834, 4546 barrels of Dutch,
and 53,891 barrels of Norwegian herrings; and have im-
ported last year only 568 barrels of Dutch, and 12,507
barrels of Norwegian ; whilst the importation of Scotch
herrings has increased from 19,000 barrels in 1834, to
116,538 barrels in 1850. In the year 1849 it even
amounted to 147,103 barrels.

“Enclosed I beg to hand you the import list of herrings
into the port of Stettim, from the year 1824 to 1850.

** According to my opinion, it will be injurious to the
trade in Scotland if the British Government should insist
upon the trade to pay for the Brand; for the cheaper
herrings are, the greater distance they can be forwarded,
and the larger the consumption will be, because herrings
are a substitute for meat, and have therefore to stand a
competition in price with that of provisions, as beef, bacon,
&c., in the interior of the country.

“ The first few shipments of Scotch unbranded herrings

270 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

are only consumed by the richer class of people in
Germany, whilst Crown and Full branded Scotch her-
rings are purchased by all classes; and hence it often
happens that unbranded Scotch herrings are unable to be
sold when the former are to be had; or, at any rate, a
difference of from 8s. to 4s. sterling per barrel is made in
the price, although the quality may be the same in every
respect ; and this is merely caused because the brand pre-
vents disputes, and its quality can be relied on.

“‘ Other articles in casks, such as oil, butter, &c., can be
sold according to sample, or their quality and contents
can be stated ; but such is not the case with herrings, for
it is impossible to describe each fish in each barrel, or
their number, and neither how the cure has been effected,
nor whether they have been cured immediately after their
capture, which is essential, because the fish may look
well at first sight, but will not keep if not cured immedi-
ately after being caught.

“ Tow could the trade in Germany be protected if the
superintendence of the British Fishing Board ceased to
look after this? As long as this Board keeps up its
present character, there is no fear for a decline in the im-
portation of Scotch herrings into Germany, but it is
probable it may still increase, when charges, such as river
dues and transit duty, are removed; and a larger trade
might also be carried on with Poland, Prussia, and
Austria, when the import duties into these countries are
reduced.

“The import duty on all kinds of herrings into the
Confederated States of Germany (Zollverein), is at present
one dollar per barrel, or equal to about 3s. sterling per
barrel.

“ Austria charges 2 guiden 30 kreutzers per cwt.,

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 271

making it about 15s. sterling per barrel, which is nearly the
price of the fish in Scotland, and therefore a prohibition.

‘“ Russia makes a difference in the tariff between Scotch
and Norwegian Herrings; the former paying an import
duty of 1 ruble 30 cops. silver, per barrel, or equal to
about 4s. 6d. sterling per barrel, whilst Norwegian her-
rings are only charged 365 cops. silver, or equal to about
1s. 3d. sterling per barrel. The duty in Poland was
formerly lower on Scotch herrings, but has been raised
to that of Russia since the first of January 1851, and the
Scotch trade has lost by that means a good market.

“ For France, the duty is said to be 37s. to 40s. sterling
per barrel, or more than double the price of the fish in
Scotland.

“ The Belgian duty ranges from 12s. to 15s. sterling per
barrel,* and in Naples it is almost as high.

“ From Spain and Portugal Scotch herrings are alto-
gether excluded, if I am rightly informed. The transit
duty on herrings in Russia is 10 silver groschen, or equal
to about 1s. sterling per barrel on the river Oder, as well as
Vistula, and on the river Elbe it is only 24d. per barrel.

“ Holland charges about 3s. sterling per barrel for the
transit of herrings on the Rhine.

“ Denmark levies a duty of 3d. sterling per barrel on
herrings for passing the Sound; and

‘* Hanover charges one-halfpenny per barrel for passing
the Elbe at Stade. f

“ Tn conclusion, I beg to remark that I consider it would
be a great benefit to the trade if the number of days which
Scotch herrings must be in salt before the official brand can
be affixed were reduced from fifteen to ten clear days, by
which the shipments of branded fish would be facilitated,

* Now considerably reduced. + Now abolished.

272 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

and a larger quantity could be disposed of to the interior
of Germany before winter sets in.

“ Should you require any further information, I shall be
happy at all times to be able to serve you with it; and I
remain respectfully, sir, your obedient servant,

(Signed) ALEXANDER WELLMANN.

* Srerrin, the 8th February 1851.

“ GrorGE TRAILL, Esq., M.P.,
London.”

Importation of Herrings into the Port of Stettin.

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1850] ... | 470) 116,538) 568) ... | 12,507) ... | ... | ... | 101] 130,184) ... | 46,328

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 273

1852, Orans and Barrels.—Before the establishment of
the Fishery Board, the fishermen, when selling their her-
rings, were often lable to be defrauded by the measure
not being of the proper size, and various orders and regu-
lations were issued by the Board on the subject; and in con-
sequence of the law fixing a standard measure of capacity,
the Board found it necessary to issue, on Loth May 1852, an
order as to the changing the measure, or rather the deno-
mination of its contents. The contents of the crans or
barrel-measure of fresh herrings, before the measure of
capacity was changed, was 82 gallons per barrel, and 16 gal-
lons per half barrel, English Wine Measure ; and the order
fixes the same measure to be continued as containing
372 gallons, Imperial Standard Measure, in the cran or
barrel, and so in proportion for the half. The Board, more-
over, orders that the said cran or measure shall be made of
oak staves completely seasoned, three-fourths of an inch in
thickness, neither more nor less; the staves not to be under
2 inches, nor more than 4 inches in breadth, and no croze* to
be allowed; that the cran shall be bound with six good iron
hoops, of the following dimensions,—namely, the hoops at
the extreme ends of the cran to be 2 inches in breadth,
those on each end of the bilge to be 1} inch in breadth,
and those on each quarter thereof to be 1} inch in breadth,
all of proportional thickness ; that the bilge hoops shall be
so placed as to leave a space not exceeding 9 inches between
the two ; and the order further directs the placing of iron
rivets to fix the hoops, and permits twelve holes to be bored
to allow the water to escape, as well as the placing of han-
dles for the convenience of the trade,—such measure to be
inspected by the fishery officer, and branded, if found cor-
rect, and of the size and capacity described in the said order.

* Circular incision to receive the heads or ends required in bands,
8

274 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

And the Commissioners further require that the bar-
rel in which white herrings are packed shall be of the
capacity or contents of 262 gallons Imperial Standard
Measure, and the half barrel 183 gallons, both being the
exact relative measure of the herring barrel and half
barrel previously in use.

And parties using different crans or barrels are to be
prosecuted.

TRELAND. — Destruction of Herring-Spawn — Beam-
Trawling.— While every wish has been manifested by the
Fishery Commissioners of Ireland to promote the herring
and other fisheries on the coast of Ireland, it is to be re-
gretted that the supply in the year 1852 had not im-
proved, and that the system of beam-trawling was exciting
serious disturbances in certain quarters of that country.
The Report in 1852 by the Commissioners, dated 20th
May 1853, says :—

‘“ At Howth, and the East Coast generally, the harvest
fishery for herrings continued to a period later than usual.
Several of the Cornish vessels remained up to the close of
October ; and among the extraordinary events which may
be mentioned, was a large export of fresh herrings by
train from Dublin to the Galway market. This circum-
stance has been attributed, in several announcements by
the local press, to the indolence and indomitable preju-
dices of the Claddagh fishermen, and to the insufficiency
of their means of capture. We have, however, good
reason to believe that it was mainly owing to a deficiency
of supply since autumn, and to the extreme severity of
the weather. The Inspecting Commander of the Galway
district states, ‘that the condition of the fishery establish-
‘ment is very much worse than the preceding year, and

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 275

‘that there are no signs of improvement whatsoever, but
‘the contrary.’ He adds, ‘that the habits of the fisher-
‘ men are very disorderly and quarrelsome, unless allowed
‘to do exactly as they please.’ We regret to state, that
having made several visits to Galway during the autumn,
we are obliged to confirm this statement.

“The Board having been urged by some respectable
persons, who wished to promote peace, to alter the limits
for trawling in the Bay of Galway toa line drawn ‘ from
‘ Spiddal to Black Head, determined, before they should
hold any public meeting for the purpose of hearing evi-
dence, to cause practical examination to be made, under
the direction of an intelligent coast-guard officer, recom-
mended by the late Inspecting Commander; and with
the permission of one of the managing directors of the
Royal Irish Fisheries Company, then trawling in the
Bay, he accompanied one of the vessels in several trips,
and closely examined the produce of each shot of the
trawl, but could observe nothing resembling the spawn of
fish.

“The Board having been desirous to obtain all possible
information on this very embarrassing question before
they should adopt further restrictions, determined that
one of the Inspecting Commissioners should visit Torbay.
It would have been quite useless to make the proposed
change, as nothing short of closing the whole Bay against
trawling, &c., from the Arran Islands inwards, would
satisfy the unreasonable demands of the Claddagh fisher-
men; and a communication has recently been made by
the Commissioners to the Government, expressing their
conviction that nothing but the constant presence of a
small armed steamer will secure the preservation of order,
as they fear that nothing else can break down the spirit

52

aod

276 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

of insubordination, the result of prejudices, which pre-
vails. Happily it is the only part of Ireland in which
there have been any disorderly proceedings ; and out of
forty district returns, there are but two in which the
fishermen are not represented to be ‘ orderly, quiet, and
‘peaceable, neither quarrelling among themselves, nor
‘ molesting strangers.’

‘Tn the first case, it has been stated that the unfor-
tunate and progressively declining community at the
-Claddagh can alone be charged with a habitual spirit of
insubordination. The other case is more to be wondered
at, because it is in the immediate vicinity of the metro-
polis. We greatly regret to state, that during the last
season several aggressions have been committed upon the
boats and nets of the Cornish fishermen, both at Howth
and Kingstown. Active measures were adopted by the
coast-guards and constabulary, and every aid was afforded
by the local magistracy to discover the offenders. A large
reward was offered by the gentry and by the Board of
Public Works, as Commissioners of Kingstown Harbour,
for the discovery of the offenders, and we are especially
indebted to Captain Symonds, the late Inspecting Com-
mander, for his active assistance ; but all was in vain, the
offences were committed at night, and no discovery has
been made. But, though fruitless, we must say, every
exertion towards the discovery of the offenders was made
by the harbour-master of Howth, who has uniformly ren-
dered great service to the fishery, in the regulation and
preservation of order in that harbour, now become decid-
edly the most important fishery station on the coast of
Ireland. That most exemplary body of men, the crews
of the Cornish fleet, are very easily managed ; but when
upwards of 200 sail of vessels are assembled, and the

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 277

whole of their fish is daily sold, it requires no ordinary
exertion, great judgment, and local knowledge, to pre-
vent frauds and to repress outrage. The markets of
Dublin were abundantly supplied through the season ;
and to that circumstance, generating a spirit of jealousy
and monopoly on the part of the trawlers and line fishers,
may have been attributed the aggressions committed
against the Cornishmen. The bye-law of the 14th Feb-
ruary 1851, obligmg the trawlers to keep off the shoal
ground on the eastern coast, has been most gratefully re-
ceived by the Cornish fleet ; and to it, ina great measure,
they attribute their extraordinary success last year. We
have resolved upon using increased precautions this year,
and confidently hope that we shall be able to prevent any
recurrence of impropriety.”

And as we consider the talented Inspecting Com-
missioner Barry’s Report as to the fisheries on the De-
vonshire coast and regarding beam-trawling extremely
valuable, as bearing upon the question of legislative in-
terference, and as there is much interesting information
besides, we do not hesitate to give large extracts of this
Report.

COAST OF DEVON INQUIRY.

FISHERY OFFICE, 15th November 1852.

“ Sir,—On the 18th of August last, it was resolved by
the Board, on reading my Report of the 18th June, that
I ‘should proceed to the coast of Devon, for the purpose
‘ of collecting information bearing upon the question of
‘ trawling, and the laws, usages, and regulations in force
‘ relating thereto, and that when the Commissioners were
‘in possession of my Report, they would take into con-
‘ sideration the propriety of holding a meeting at Galway

278 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

‘to receive evidence as to altering the limit at present
‘ defining the trawling ground at Galway.’

“ Having been prevented by an unusual pressure of
business in the office from immediately undertaking this
important mission, I determined to occupy the time in
making such preliminary arrangements as should facilitate
my inquiries; and I have to express my best thanks to
the Collector of Customs in Dublin, and to the Inspecting
Commander of Coast-guards of the district, for their kind
co-operation in furnishing me with valuable introductions
to Exeter, Torquay, Brixham, and Dartmouth.

“My next course was to communicate with some of
the fishermen of Galway, and with some respectable per-
sons there, interested in their behalf, informing them of
my intended visit to the coast of Devon, and soliciting
their aid in inducing the fishermen of the Claddagh to
select some intelligent person of their own body to ac-
company me, and to be present at the several investi-
gations which I proposed to make, so as to be able to
authenticate any statements which I should be enabled
to make in reference to the practice and regulations ob-
served by a community so prosperous as the fishermen on
that coast. With this object, I visited Galway twice —
within the month of September, and finally obtained from
one of the gentlemen who undertook to negociate the
matter with the fishermen, a letter bearing date the 23d
September, conveying a direct negative to the proposition.
I subjoin a copy of Mr Wade’s communication :—

“<« GaLtwAay, September 28, 1852.
““¢My pEAR S1tr,—According to your wish, I went into
‘the Claddagh village, and spoke to two men of intelli-
‘gence and substance, and, as I considered, men who

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 279

‘ have some influence with their fellows. They declined
‘my proposal to go to Torquay,—first, because they might
‘lose the herring-fishing here, and, also, they did not
relish the idea of being implicated in the introduction
of trawling in this bay. This latter objection they ad-
‘mitted freely to me. They have boats of their own
‘suitable for the work, but they fear the vengeance of
‘ those who have nothing to lose. They say that in one
‘ week, after their return from Hngland on such an errand,
‘ they would be without a boat. I did not go farther, as
‘I well knew the people, and feel convinced that no
‘amount of eloquence would ever change their long-
‘rooted prejudices. I was near catching it the other
‘evening for allowing my dog to run on board a boat
‘ready for sea; so that you have two powerful elements
‘ to contend with—superstition and prejudice. But with
‘ all this, they are a hardy race, and there are some good
‘men among them. I have not much doubt that if there
‘ were sufficient constant protection given by the Govern-
‘ment, you would see, before twelve months, many of
themselves trawling in the bay. There are forty to fifty
‘ boats here, from twelve to fifteen tons, which would suit
‘the purpose, and some only require to see the thing well
‘ established, when, I am convinced, they would quickly
‘ follow. What is required then, in my humble opinion,
‘is a small war steamer in the roads, always ready for sea,
with sufficient boats attached to go up the shallow bays
‘and creeks, to protect those who will work and not idle.
‘When the herrings are in season, at present the custom
‘ is, first to ascertain whether the self-created lords of the
‘ bay intend to go out to fish. If they are in the mood to
‘ go, then all may take their chance ; but if they say No,
‘then, monstrous to say, the many industrious men who

a

a

.

280 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

sn

.

n

n

.

no

would try their luck, must obey the mandate, and lose
often the best fishing nights. This occurred a few
nights since, when some country boats stole a march on
them, and had a fair take, though they only made one
shot. The rascals heard of it, and no doubt would have
roughly handled them, but they could not find either
them or the herrings. The same thing occurred with
myself. This is a most deplorable state of things. The
bay is literally alive with herrings and mackerel, but the
take is so trifling, it is only sufficient to supply the town.
They have never exceeded two nights in the week. As
I mentioned the steamer, I had better suggest to the
Board the necessity of establishing a small force in
shore, right among them, who would very quickly mark
down the most turbulent of them, and keep them in
most effectual check—for at best they are cowards, and,
hike all cowards, soon overawed. It is my impression
that such a proceeding would be warmly welcomed by
those who have anything in the shape of boats and
tackle to lose; they would be glad to be protected from
the lawless, beggarly rabble, who are the instigators of
all the mischief. It is known that, long since, the
latter class determined, when they caught Mr Synge’s
trawler at a disadvantage, to scuttle her and drown the
crew; but, fortunately, the affair got wind, and no
attempt was made; but if they get opportunity, when
the autumn fishing is over, and poverty and starvation
staring them in the face, then their vengeance will turn
on those who, they do not hesitate to say, have de-
stroyed their fishing. In almost all their acts with
regard to Galway Bay fishing, they set the law at
defiance ; and until they are taught by force to obey the .

‘law, no good can be got from them. When they find

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 281

‘force won’t do, and feel that others are reaping the
‘harvest they ought to gather, then, perhaps, kindness,
‘and, if possible, assistance to enable some of them to
‘ get the necessary tackle to go to sea, and provide them-
‘selves with sufficient provisions for a week or ten days,
‘you, my dear sir, may depend on it, that a very short
‘ period would elapse until you would see them once more
‘comfortable and happy. If Government would only
consider the subject, and extend a helping hand in time,
‘the thing could be easily done, and a large class of men
‘saved from the workhouse and jail. Yor after all that
‘has been said of them and against them, with scarcely
one redeeming trait, yet they are good fishermen, and
very many among them would jump at any employ that
would put bread in their children’s mouths.

““« Tf I can be of any assistance or service in carrying
“out such a laudable work, I shall be most happy to
render all in my power to save them from impending
ruin; for there is not at this moment in the village one
dozen spillets, or one dozen boats, able to take sufficient
provisions to sea for a fortnight, and all this when the
cod and round fish are just coming in.

“¢ T was induced to write you thus fully on the subject
‘from our conversation to-day. You know the people,
‘and so do I; and I really hope the Commissioners, in
‘ recommending the Executive to send cannon balls, will
also not forget to send the means of earning bread.
Should this letter have any weight, then I have no
apology to make for my suggestions; but I hope that
‘you will not feel I have inflicted a long and useless
‘ letter on you. And am, my dear Sir, yours very truly,

(Signed) THomAs WADE.’

5

s.

‘

«

wn

“<«To J. R. Barry, Esq.’

282 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

“ T left Dublin on the evening of Saturday the 9th
of October, and reached Bristol the following evening.
There I learned that the chief supply of fresh fish to that
important market is received from the coast of Devon, by
the Bristol and Exeter and the South Devon Railways.
The trade is exclusively carried on by extensive fish-
mongers, who have their agents at Brixham and Dart-
mouth, and sell only in their own shops; none but the
coarser description of fish being exposed in a public
market. Bristol is, however, generally supplied most
abundantly, and at prices, the moderation of which quite
surprised me. Salmon may be said to be the only fish
for which they depend on Ireland, with occasionally some
baskets of soles and turbots from Waterford.

‘“ The fishery regulations of this important district are
chiefly embodied in those appended to the Convention
with France, confirmed by the Act 6 and 7 Victoria,
chap. 79, with this addition, that the 2d section of that
Act especially saves, and, to a certain degree, amends or
explains an Act passed in the 13th and 14th Charles IL,
chap. 28, for the especial regulations of the pilchard
fishery in the counties of Devon and Cornwall.

“This last recited Act establishes the principle of a
close time, or fence months, from the Ist of June to the
last day of November, during which time it is interdicted
to take any fish of any kind with any drift-net, trammel,
or stream-net, or any other nets of that sort or kind, unless
it be at the distance of one league and a half at least from
the respective shores. A former statute, 3 James I.
chap. 12, and a subsequent one, 2 George I. chap. 18,
contained stringent regulations in reference to the size of
meshes of nets, and even the dimensions of the fish which
it should be lawful to bring on shore.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 283

“The more recent Act, 6 and 7 Victoria, sec. 2, con-
firming the terms of the convention with France, refers
only to the Act of Charles II., for the purpose of more
clearly defining the distances from shore, outside which
trawlers should keep; and all the regulations as to the
size of the meshes of nets, with still more minute restric-
tions as to the length of the poles, the weight of the
trawl-irons and chains, &c., are to be found in the articles
of the Convention, from 16 to 26.

“The Convention with France was the result of two
parliamentary inquiries: the first in 1817, before a Select
Committee on South Devon Fisheries; the next in 1833,
before the Select Committee on the Bristol Channel
Fisheries.

“The Committee of 1817 was appointed at the
especial instance of the fishermen of Brixham, and in
the proceedings of the second Committee they also took
an active part.

“ The headlands which form Torbay are Berry Head
and Hope’s Nose ; the distance across about five miles,
the depth of the bay about three and a half miles;
soundings vary from two to ten fathoms ; the tide rises in
springs seventeen, and ordinary tides thirteen feet. Cap-
tain Storey has found it extremely difficult to enforce the
marking regulations. Complaints are sometimes made
that the lines and nets of the inshore fishermen are car-
ried away, but believes that trawling within the bay is
very rare at any time, but especially during the fence
months. ‘There are a few very small boats belonging to
Torquay, which sometimes use light beam trawls.

“Lieutenant Hoblyn, R.N., chief officer of coast-guard,
from whom I received every assistance, states, that there
are now 221 trawling vessels marked and numbered out

284 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

of the port, ranging from 25 to 45 tons, all cutter rigged.
They are called sloops, carvel built, and all exclusively beam
trawlers. He describes them as generally well appointed.
Each vessel has four men and a boy, or three men and
two boys. There are, besides, from 80 to 100 smaller class
boats chiefly engaged in the hook and long-line fishing,
and, when the herrings appear, in the drift-net fishing ;
they vary in size from 4 to 15 tons—the smaller class be-
ing called yawls. He observes no bad spirit between the
two classes; indeed, they are sometimes greatly annoyed
by a class of persons called pirates,—strangers who come
from distant places and rob their nets at night. All the
regulations of the French Convention are generally ob-
served, and the fence months are seldom encroached upon.
The trawlers finding that when the weather permits, their
most productive ground is far outside the limits, they
never trawl in the bay, unless it should be blowing a gale
of wind outside, and very rarely during the fence months
under anycircumstances. They generally trawl in the offing
between Start Point and Hope’s Nose, about five miles
from the entrance to the bay, sometimes in thirty fathoms ;
but they vary their ground according to the state of the
weather, With a strong easterly wind the fish lie off in
deep water. It is a mode of fishing particularly liable to
casualties. A sloop will sometimes lose her whole gear,
to the value of L.40 and upwards. ‘The laws relating to
fence months are not well understood, but yet they seldom
trawl in the bay ; the ground is only fit in the centre, be-
ing all foul along shore on both sides. Knows of no in-
stance of a breach of the 25th article of the Convention,
requiring trawlers to keep three miles from herring boats.
The French boats, from Dieppe and Bourdeaux, often come
in during the winter in large numbers. They do not

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY, 285

attempt to fish within the limits, but purchase skate,
which is taken in very large quantities, but no other fish.
They are always well received, as good customers for a
kind of fish otherwise very unsaleable.

‘“‘ They object to the regulations of the Convention re-
quiring the sails to be marked with oil paint. It rots the
canvas in a short time ; and the regulation has been modi-
fied by the Inspecting Commander permitting the substi-
tution of coal tar, which is quite harmless even in tar-
paulins. It is ascertained, that when paid with coal tar, they
will last double the time as when Stockholm tar is used.

‘“ Mr Nicholas Smith, President of the Friendly Society
of Fishermen, called on me, and stated trawling is the
only mode resorted to for the capture of flat fish. They
are never taken by spillards or long-lines, which are only
used for taking cod and ling.

“There is scarcely ever any trawling in the bay from May
to November,—these are what are called fence months;
but trawling, even within that time, would not do half
the mischief that is done by seines hauled on shore, by
which thousands of the young of turbot and other fish are
taken in places where the trawlers could not work. From
November they trawl within the bay productively, except
when the herrings fall in, in which case they desist. Fish
certainly spawn in the shoal water, and on sands protected
by rough ground. About November it is usual for a large
number of the boats, 30 or 40, to proceed to Hull, to
Ramsgate, or to Tenby. Only the owners of the new and
well appointed hoats venture on these voyages. When
they go, they regularly break up their establishments at
home, and take their moveables and families with them,
shutting up their houses. The Mount’s Bay herring
fishers, and those from Worthing, Rye, and Ramsgate,

286 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

come into the bay in spring. Most of the boats belong to
wealthy owners on shore, but the crews and masters gene-
rally have shares of the vessels. The division of the fish
is in the proportions of—

Owner, : : : 1 share
Vessel, ’ ; : be
Master ‘ y : ft
Crew, ; 4 : ies

5 shares.

“The vessel’s share keeps up the equipment. The pro-
visions are found by owners. The ordinary wear and tear
of a boat and gear, without allowing for casualties, may
be set down at a L.100 per year, or thereabouts.

“ Tt is the custom for all the boats to come into harbour
on Friday afternoon, and to remain till 11 o’clock on Sun-
day night,—the Saturday being devoted to repairs and pre-
parations for the following week. The number in on
Friday the 15th October, was 120.

“ Mr Samuel Saunders, harbour-master, was once a
trawler himself.

“‘ There are old laws and regulations about fence months
and limits; but they are not much remembered. Lord
Vernon, who lived at Churston, was anxious some time
ago, over thirty-five years since, to see those regulations
enforced ; but the people did, for a short time, observe
them, and have fallen since into the old ways, ‘ governed
‘ only by the common law of the land against doing injury
‘ one to another, and by the law of God and of conscience ;
‘ but their conviction is, the more trawling the more fish.
‘They see no diminution in the supplies, though the
‘number of takers is daily increasing. It is like plough-
‘ing the ground,—the small worms are roused up, and
‘then come the shoals of fish after them.’

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 287

‘On further inquiry I found that this interference of
Lord Vernon’s, referred to by the harbour-master, had, in
1817, produced the parliamentary inquiry, by a Select
Committee on the South Devon Fisheries, at the instance
of the great body of fishermen on that coast, by whom a

document was signed to the following effect :—

“ BrixHaM-Quay, Toray, 11th June 1817.

“« We, the undersigned, being persons concerned in
‘the fisheries between Start and Exmouth Bay, do
‘hereby declare our opinion, that it will materially pro-
‘mote and benefit the said fisheries, if trawls and drag-
‘nets are prohibited being used in Torbay, from lst May
‘to lst November; in Start Bay, from lst May to Ist
‘ October.’

“The recommendation of this Parliamentary Com-
mittee, after hearing evidence, was—

“¢ That it will conduce to the benefit both of the public
‘and the fishermen themselves, if Start Bay, Torbay, and
‘Exmouth Bay, on the southern coast of Devonshire,
‘ are kept free from trawl and shore drag-nets during the
‘ spawning season ; and they are the more induced to re-
‘commend some regulations to that effect, as it has been
‘ clearly shown that it will not throw any fishermen out
‘of employment during those months, and will be the
‘means of increasing the quantity of cheap and nutritious
‘ food, on which all the lower ranks of society in that part
‘ of the country chiefly subsist.’

“ By the evidence taken before that Committee, it ap-
pears that there were, at that time, employed in the
trawl fishery—

““* Four or five hundred men and boys, and about one
‘ hundred vessels.’

288 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

“ The returns of the coast-guard officer, given to me,
show the number more than doubled.

“The whole of the Report from which the above ex-
tracts have been made, with the evidence upon which it
was founded, is deserving of attention, as expressing the
unanimous opinion of that day.

“It was ordered to be printed, 20th June 1817.

“ The next parliamentary inquiry was in the summer
of 1833, by a ‘ Committee on the British Channel Fish-
erles.’

“Thirty witnesses were examined before this Com-
mittee.

“The inquiry embraced several very important sub-
jects.

‘ Before I close, it may be proper to mention, that in
addition to the statutes to which I have before referred,
as exclusively affecting the fisheries of the coasts of
Devon and Cornwall, the whole coast of England and
Scotland is included in the statutes for the regulation of
the British white herring-fishery, now thirteen in num-
ber, commencing with the 48th George III. cap. 110,
passed into law 1808, and ending with the 14th and 15th
Victoria, chapter 26, passed in 1851. I have carefully
examined all these Acts, and I find that up to the passing
of the 6th and 7th Victoria, chapter 79, passed in 1848,
known by the name of the Convention Act, only one of
the statutes passed for the encouragement of the British
herring-fisheries contained any restrictive regulation as
to engines,—namely, the 48th George ITI. cap. 110, section
12, regulating the sizes of meshes of herring nets ; so that
the Convention Act, a comparatively recent enactment,
and to the provisions of which Scotland is subject, was
the first measure of legislation restraining trawling on the

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 289

English and Scotch coast generally. But after nine years’
experience of this Act, the guardians of the British
herring-fisheries have, in a special statute, 14th and
15th Victoria, chapter 26, section 6, repeated the restric-
tions upon trawlers in the vicinity of herring-fisheries
when the regular herring-fishery is commenced.

“ Although I am desirous to abstain from the expression
of any opinion which I may have formed on the result of
this inquiry, reserving myself for the general discussion
of the question before the special Board fixed for Monday
next, the 15th inst., I feel bound to wind up with a
general summary of conclusions which seem to me fully
deducible from the facts which have been stated in this
report :-—

“ 1st, The east coast of Devon, from the mouth of the
Exe to Start Point, is remarkable for a productive and
most valuable fishing of a mixed kind, as to engines, the
trawl net being that most used.

“9d, That the bay or inshore fishing has, for the last
190 years, been, by law, under restraints prescribed by
the 18th and 14th Charles II. cap. 28, rendered more
stringent by the Convention Act 6th and 7th Victoria,
cap. 79, and still further confirmed by the 14th and 15th
Victoria, cap. 26, section 6.

“3d, That the restraint prescribed by the Convention
Act was the result of, and strongly urged by, the two suc-
cessive Parliamentary Committees in 1817 and 1833.

“4th, That a strict observance of these restraints and
regulations generally prevails, though there may have
been occasional breaches.

“ Sth, That notwithstanding the progressive increase in
the numbers of vessels, the supplies of all sorts of fish

keep pace with the increased means of capture.
£

290 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

“ 6th, That the last measure of legislation, 14th and 15th
Victoria, chap. 26, section 6, extending to the whole
coasts of Scotland and England, has been enacted at the
instance of the Commissioners of British Fisheries, having
a large and well-trained staff of officers, watching closely
the interests of the most important and most prosperous
fishing community in the empire, and that it may be
considered an unqualified affirmation of a similar regula-
tion in the French Convention Act, but in more stringent
terms, and after nine years’ experience of its effects.”

We find in the same document a strong attestation as
to the injury of such trawling, by the extensive fish-
monger, Mr Thomas Anderson, Glasgow, which we think
worth reproducing here :—

“ Having been extensively engaged in the fish trade in
Scotland for the last fifteen years, I have observed, with
very much regret, the great injury done to the white
fishings by the use of trawl nets. Nearly about ten years
ago the trawl net was introduced into the Firth of Forth,
and in accordance with the increase of the use of it, the
gradual decrease in the take of white fish has been the
result. Also on the west coast of Scotland (particularly
the Ayrshire coast), it is a well-known fact, that ever
since the introduction of the trawl net, there has also
been a gradual decrease in the take of white fish; and I
am fully convinced in my opinion, that the use of trawl
must either destroy the spawn of the fish or the young fry.

‘“T may also mention, that from one station I had from
700 to 800 young turbot in one day lately, and scarcely a
marketable fish amongst the whole, the most of them not
weighing more than 1 to 14 lbs. These were some of
the produce of the trawl; and my objection principally

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 291

applies to inlets, bays, or near the shore. My object
being to get as many prime marketable fish as possible, I —
am of course in no way interested in the prevention of
any particular mode of taking fish, which shall not be
injurious to the fisheries in general.

““T speak from great experience, I being the owner of
large stations in the Island of the Lewis, in the Firth of
Forth, the west coast of Scotland, my principal head-
quarters being in Glasgow, and one way and another em-
ploying from 800 to 900 hands.”

It will be seen that, apparently in consequence of pro-
hibiting beam-trawling on the Devonshire and Cornwall
coasts from 1st May to Ist November, the trawlers have
been very successful in the other months.

Beam-Trawling, Galway—The fishermen here having
also complained of the destruction of spawn by the boats
trawling for flat fish, the Irish Commissioners also pro-
hibited trawling in Galway Bay, when large shoals of
herrings or mackerel shall have set in to said bay ; and the
fishermen are engaged fishing for such fish with drift nets ;
and such trawl boats shall, in such cases, keep at least
three miles from the boats fishing herring or mackerel.—
9th January 1854.

In Belfast Lough trawl nets were also prohibited in
1854 by the Commissioners of Irish Fisheries at all times
in that part of the Lough of Belfast comprised within a
straight line down from Goay Point in the county of
Down, to Kelroot Point in the county of Antrim.

No nets (excepting for taking herrings) are to be used
in the said part of the Lough of Belfast under 13 inch
in the mesh, from knot to knot, under a penalty of 50s.

for each offence, by order of the Commissioners.
To

292 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

1856.—The fecundity of the herring may generally be
supposed to make up for the great quantities fished and
destroyed by birds and the finny tribes, yet it is unques-
tionably a subject of national importance to consider how
far the Legislature should farther protect the growth of
the herring, and prevent all unnecessary disturbance or
destruction of the shoals of herrings, and their fry and
spawn. We have stated different causes which may tend
to diminish the supply ; and it will be seen by the letter,
of which we subjoin a copy, from Mr Cleghorn of Wick, a
gentleman who has paid particular attention to the sub-
ject,* that there may be reasonable grounds for all due
care being taken that legislation shall be applied when
necessary. We see almost every session of Parliament
new Acts as to the salmon-fisheries, which are compara-
tively of much smaller value than the herring-fishery.

The following is the letter referred to :—

“Wick, October 7, 1856.

“ Srr,—Since you have taken the herrings in hand,
allow me to give you some facts that may be of use to you.
There is no subject that more requires elucidation.

“ In the ‘ Quarterly Journal of Agriculture’ and ‘ High-
land and Agricultural Society’s Transactions’ for June
1839, you will find a good paper on the herring by Mr
Mitchell of Leith. Please turn it up and read it. The
herring is much more local than you fancy. The reason
why they are found apparently suddenly making their
appearance on the shores is, that they just then have
matured their milt and roe, and self-preservation is then
lost in their anxiety to preserve the race. Then milters

* Addressed to the “ Times,” and reprinted in the “ Scotsman,’’ 14th
October 1856.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 293

and spawners come together. ‘Till now they were bent on
individual preservation—each was on his own hook; they
avoided nets and other dangers; now all sense ef danger
is lost,—their only aim is now the preservation of the race ;
and when in this state sudden destruction comes upon
them in a cloud of nets.

“‘ We have on our shores races of herrings that we know
come to maturity in July, August, and September. Up
to 1851 we took yearly, on an average, 20,000 barrels,
but in July 1851 we took 30,000 barrels. This seems to
have been their culminating point, for in July 1852 we
took only 7618 barrels ; in July 1858, 7829 ; in July 1854,
2396 ; in July 1855, 2664 ; andin July 1856, 2977 barrels.

“ Our July races, then, are done; we have fished them
up; we have all but extinguished them. We are now
doing for the August and September races what we have
already done for the July ones. Of these, in 1856, we
were only able to take 90,000 barrels, although we brought
to bear on them 19,000,000 square yards of netting, the
greatest extent of netting ever used here. In 1855 they
afforded us 135,000 barrels.

“Tf the herrings belong to the waters in which they
are fished, my conclusion that we are extinguishing the
races, or reducing them so low that the produce of the
fishery will be less than the outfit, is not so absurd as some
would insinuate ; but it may be made more apparent when
I tell you, that the space over which our boats here fish is
from the Pentland Skerries to Clythness, about thirty
miles, and seaward about five miles, or 150 square miles.
On this portion of sea our 1051 boats every night during
the fishing spread 19,000,000 square yards of netting, or
nets 500 miles long. The wonder is, not that we are ex-
tinguishing the races, but that they should have lasted so

294 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

long. The netting has been every year expanding, in
consequence of the shoals contracting. The poorest dis-
tricts use.the finest and most extended netting. In 1818,
the netting in all Scotland did not exceed 10,000,000
square yards, and with that we took 340,894 barrels, while
it appears by the Fishery Report of last year that we em-
ployed 80,031,507 square yards, and caught 766,708 barrels,
showing that with eight times the extent of netting we
were able only to double the herrings caught.

“The late Mr Wilson of the Board of Fisheries has
settled the character of ground on which the herring
spawns,—see ‘ Blackwood’s Magazine’ for April or May
last. Were the Government anxious to aid the fisheries,
they ought to survey the ocean bottom, and map it out,
and let us see at least the portions on which the herring
cannot spawn. They never spawn on sand; I believe it
must be rough ground. At all events, something must be
done. Our summer shoals are now so reduced that we
must change our time and the place for fishing ; new
ground must be sought, longer voyages made, or we must
take to winter in place of summer fishing. We must get
deep and safe harbours.

‘‘T believe, till the matter be viewed in the light I have
done, this fishery is lost. My view is most unpalatable to
all engaged in the trade ; and they have so long looked on
the herrings as being as enduring as the ocean, that my
doctrines have been spit upon by them.—I am, your
obedient servant, JouN CLEGHORN.”

Were any additional evidence requisite to prove the
great advantages of the system of inspection and superin-
tendence by the fishery officers, we would suggest the
perusal of a very able pamphlet, written at this time by

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 295

a gentleman of high standing and of great practical ex-
perience, who for many years was largely engaged in ex-
porting herrings to the continent of Europe, Walter
Biggar, Esq., and whois now retired from business, and
has no connection with the Board or the fishery. In this
pamphlet Mr Biggar says, ‘“‘ I maintain that it is next to
impossible for aman to buy a cargo of herrings entirely
upon his own skill and judgment, unless he has been pre-
sent at the curing and packing of the fish from the com-
mencement. There are rogues in all trades; and it was
only the other day that a butcher was fined L.10 by the
sitting magistrate in Edinburgh for offermg unwholesome
meat for sale. If a man will attempt this on a stall
in open market, how much easier to escape detection
when the unwholesome article is packed in the middle of
a cask, and covered with brine and pickle.” .....

“ Though I was upwards of thirty years engaged in the
herring trade, and understand it as well as most men, I
confess myself unable to buy a cargo of herrings with
safety to myself, if the seller be a rogue and determined to
cheat me. I should feel myself quite as incapable to do so,
as I should be to buy a silver spoon on my own judgment,
which had not first passed through the Assay Office.” *

The early fishing at the Lewis Islands having gradually
increased, and as the mode of curing had been also im-
proved, they were eagerly bought at those places on the
Continent to which they were sent; and at Stettin, the
first arrival in the end of May 1856 sold for L.3, 3s. and
L.8, 9s. per barrel; and the arrivals amounting subse-
quently to 11,883 barrels, the prices declined to L.2 for
good qualities, and 24s. to 30s. for inferior.

* “A Short Account of the Herring-Fishery in Scotland, by Walter
Biggar,” page 18.

296 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

The fishing of the herrings on the East Coast was much
less than usual; and while there were 154,962 barrels of
herrings imported at Stettin in 1855, the quantity im-
ported there was in 1856 only 99,366 barrels. The prices,
however, were high, and ranged from 30s. to 39s. per
barrel.

In the year 1856, the British Fishery Society, resolving
to take immediate steps to improve the harbour of Wick,
in consequence of the numerous lives which had been lost
at various times from the fishermen being unable to get
into the harbour, applied for and obtained an Act of Par-
liament, authorising them to extend the harbour, and
employed Messrs Stevenson, the eminent engineers, to
furnish a plan, which was approved of by the Society ; but
for some reason it was objected to by the Lords of the
Admiralty, and the work was not proceeded with, although
it was obvious that such a harbour is of great national
importance.

In the same year 1856, one of the inspecting commis-
sioners of the Irish Fisheries, J. Redmond Barry, Esq.,
before referred to, made a tour on the Scottish coasts,
between the 22d August and 13th September, and his
evidence as to the system on the said coasts is so extremely
interesting, as to justify us in extracting what follows as
more immediately connected with the herring-fishery :—

“ Having learned at the Office of Fisheries (at Edin-
burgh) that communications had been received from
Dunbar, near the entrance of the Forth, announcing that
a prosperous herring-fishery was then going on, and that
some complaints had been made of outrages committed
on the nets and persons of some Irish fishers, I lost no
time in going there, on the 30th August; and to my
great surprise and gratification, I found that not less

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CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 297

than thirty-two Arklow vessels—viz., twenty-six fishing
boats, and six trading purchasing vessels—had exhibited
that spirit of enterprise so desirable, by following the
herrings to the east coast of Scotland, nothing daunted by
the failure of the East of Ireland herring-fishery in the
preceding summer. There were also ten Skerries vessels
buying and curing in bulk. Some of the Arklow boats
had returned home, in consequence of injuries sustained
in their nets and buoys, which they attributed chiefly to .
the fishers from the Fife Coast. They admitted that the
Dunbar people were most friendly, and that the authorities
of the place had done everything that was possible to
afford them protection and redress.

“ T could not help deploring the great difference in ap-
pearance between the Scotch boats and those of our poor
countrymen; the great superiority both in construction
and outfit is quite obvious. The best that I saw were the
Newhaven boats ; and with a view to obtaining informa-
tion on that very important point, I visited the place.
There I saw them of all sizes, completed and at work, as
well as in progress in the shipwright’s yard. The boats
vary in size from 19 to 21 feet keel, about 25 feet aloft,
9 to 10 feet beam, and 4 to 5 feet deep; they are all
what is termed clinker-built, and sharp both at stem and
stern ; they are light, and planked with 3-inch larch; the
cost of the hull is from L.18 to L.20; if copper-fastened,
about L.2 more; with materials, they are under L.30.
They have two masts and lug sails.

“ At Newhaven, where there are about 200 such boats,
they are generally hauled up on the beach, when not at
sea. It takes ten men to move them up ordown. The
crews generally consist of fourmen. The herring-fishery
is their great harvest, but they also fish with spilliards

298 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

and long lines; and it is quite cheering to see the New-
haven fishwives at their doors either baiting the hooks or
mending nets. The only fixed engines which they use
are turbot nets of fine twine, 7 inches from knot to knot,
or 14-inch mesh. They are generally seven meshes deep,
about 60 fathoms long, with corks at top, and heavy stones
fixed by loops about two fathoms asunder.

“ Such a thing as a trawling vessel is scarcely known
in the Firth. This seems to me to be about the most
prosperous fishing community I have ever seen. In their
contiguity to Edinburgh, their orderly habits, great per-
severing industry, and the indefatigable co-operation of
their women, all combined, one can easily find the causes
of their success.

“ IT saw quite enough to impress me with the vast im-
portance, the great magnitude of the herring-fishery on
the East Coast of Scotland. It is quite evident that a great
deal of excitement and anxiety prevails among persons
interested in the trade, on the subject of the proposed
abolition of the branding system, and consequent reduc-
tion of the Fishery Establishment. The subject being at
present under the consideration of a Commission appointed
by the Government, it would not be becoming in’ me to
venture any opinion upon the expediency of relinquishing
altogether the practice of branding ; but I should not only
fear that the absence of all superintendence would be
highly prejudicial to the British fisheries, but would tend
to diminish materially the hopes which J have formed of
seeing the growing germ of an enterprising spirit on the
part of our own East Coast fishermen not checked in its
bud. Notwithstanding the high standard of moral con-
duct which I am willing to recognise in our North British
neighbours, I should be very unwilling to advise Irish

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 299

fishermen to resort to many parts of the coast of Scotland
if the present establishment be extinguished.

“The steady periodical resort of the great shoals of
herrings to the East Coast of Scotland for the last fifteen
years, goes far to contradict the general belief in the
capricious migratory habits of that fish; but although
they keep their ground upon the shores of the North Sea,
they frequently vary their position, sometimes abounding
on the shores of Caithness, and as far north as the Ork-
neys, and sometimes on the shores of Aberdeen, Kinear-
dine, Forfar, Fife, and Haddington, and as far south as
the Tweed. It is an object of great importance to the
fishers to be made acquainted speedily with the most
favourable localities. Along the whole Hast Coast there
are stationed intelligent officers, whose duty it is to com-
municate constantly with the head quarters at Edinburgh ;
and the facilities afforded by telegraph would enable the
authorities there to inform us of the movements of the
fish. That there is a cordial disposition to afford us every
possible aid, I entertain no doubt ; and I am sanguine in
the hope that the example of last season would, under
such circumstances, and with confidence in due protec-
tion, induce many adventurers from our shores, notwith-
standing the charge of ‘ indomitable indolence,’ to partici-
pate in the great harvest of the Scotch herring-fishery,
and finally teach them habits which nothing but example
and success can produce. Since my return from Scotland,
I have learned that the Arklow men having brought
home, clear of all expenses, not less than L.8 a man, had
resolved upon making a similar trial next season, and
were already making preparations for improving their
boats and gear; but even our poor fishermen can appre-
ciate the advantages of the existence of a well-organised

300 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

department, whose officers are instructed to do equal
justice, and afford to them assistance, advice, and pro-
tection.”

On the 16th February 1857, an order was issued pro-
hibiting the use of trawl nets in Belfast Lough, comprised
within a straight line drawn from the Castle of Carrick-
fergus, in the county thereof, to Rockput in the county
of Down, and directing that the taking of fish with trawl
nets shall not commence in any part of the Lough of
Belfast before the 1st April in each year, and shall cease
on the 1st December, and the rest of the year no trawl
nets to be used.

The herring-fishery of Norway, in 1857, was consider-
able ; and it may be worth while describing the nature of
that fishery for the year, it being different, in many re-
spects, from that on our own shores; and we shall take
the year 1857, of which we have particulars.

The greatest fishing is in the winter, and the fishermen
are subjected to great dangers and privations; the water
is remarkably clear, and the shoals are easily perceived,
but generally every season these herrings are pursued or
followed by numbers of whales and birds, which, when
seen, are a sure indication of the approach of the herrings.

That year the fishery began, 24th January, on the south
coast at Skudesnes, and for about eight days there was a
very large drift net fishing. There were about 3000 small
boats present (manned by three or four fishermen), which
each took 15 to 30 barrels daily. Besides this mode of
fishing, there is another, which the abrupt nature of the
coast, and the absence of tides, give the facility of
practising, which does not exist on our coasts,—namely,
“lock fishing.” The nets employed in this mode are of
great strength and size, and are sometimes 120 to 160

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 301

fathoms in length; they are fastened to the shore, and
made to surround a large body of herrings as previously
described. This year, one fisherman, with a net of about
150 fathoms in length, surrounded such a large quantity
that he sold the whole for 25,000 dollars, about L.5000 ;
but the net was so weak that he was obliged to get a
neighbour to place another net outside, to whom he had
to give a moiety of the quantity, and had to pay for several
vessels or boats to take in the herrings; this took place
at Aggerhavn.

The herrings this year were not so large as those of
the five previous years. The herrings then fished were
about 12 to 13 inches in length, and about the size of
Class 4, whereas, in 1857, they were only of the size of
Class 5; but the shoals frequently alternate. Sometimes
the size is about No. 4, but these are succeeded for a
short time by a smaller variety, which are in a short time
succeeded again by a larger. The fishery having ended
about the fourteenth day off Skudesnes, the boats pro-
ceeded farther north to Horegesund, where there was rather
an abundant fishing; and thereafter to Espever, a small
island off the coast ; and the fishing terminated at Branda-
sund, so far as the south fishing goes. Brandasund is
about four miles south of Bergen; and this fishery ends
about the 20th or 25th February, when the herring shoals
on this coast disappear. About 200,000 barrels were taken
in this fishery.

The north winter fishery begins about the end of Jan-
uary at Kinoer, which includes a number of islands twenty-
eight miles north of Bergen, and the fishery lasts to the
end of February. The herrings caught are about 13 inches
in length, and about Class 4 ; about 1000 boats are engaged
in this fishery, and the quantity taken about 180,000 barrels.

302 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

The summer herring-fishery is less considerable ; the
herrings are about Class 6 to 8, of superior quality to the
winter herrings, and are caught in July and August.

The Norwegian Government has passed important laws
lately for the regulation of the fishery ; and several vessels ~
belonging to the Royal Navy, each commanded by a naval
officer, are appointed to remain on the coast to maintain
order, and see that the laws are obeyed, and there are also
officers appointed to see that the size of the barrels are of
a legal dimension, and that the quality of the herrings are
such as they ought to be; and at some of the principal
fishing harbours there are stationed several open row boats,
under the command of an officer of the Norwegian Royal
Navy, constantly moving among the fishing boats to pre-
vent injury to boats or nets by disorderly fishermen.

The dangerous state of the harbour of Wick or Pulteney-
town has long excited the attention of all those interested
in the safety of the fishermen and the preservation of the
herring-fishery ; and we fully believe the following remarks
on the state of that harbour, which is in near proximity
to that which is much more valuable to this nation than
all the gold mines in the British dominions :—

Wick Harsour.— During the approaching herring-
fishery season we shall have from 1120 to 1150 boats
engaged in this perilous enterprise. They will be collected
from various districts. Each lawful night 6000 men will
leave the shores of Wick on board of these boats, which,
with the materials, may be estimated at L.120,000. Spend-
ing the night at sea, rowing, and casting and hauling their
nets, at distances varying from three to thirty miles, they
return in the morning to their respective stations; and
when the tide is out, it is no uncommon thing to see 800
boats lying at anchor within an area of 240 acres, with

‘CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 303

their precious freights, all at the mercy of the elements,
having not even a narrow sheltered creek to which fifty
of them could fly in the event of a storm at low water, or
even a couple of hours thereafter.”*

In the year 1857, by direction of the Board of Trade,
first one set of queries, and then a second set of queries
were issued through the British Herring Fishery Board
to their officers, as to the appearance of the herring at the
various localities, and which we insert :—

QUESTIONS FOR A SERIES OF OBSERVATIONS TO SOLVE THE
NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING, ORDERED BY THE
LORDS OF THE COMMITTEE OF PRIVY COUNCIL FOR TRADE,

It is desirable to ascertain :—

A. Whether the shoals of herrings appear at different
localities on the North Atlantic seaboard succes-
sively or simultaneously. In the former case, in
what order ?—whether this order is constant or
variable ? Whether, in the latter case, the varia-
tion can be traced to meteorological conditions ?
&e. &e.

B. Whether there are or are not races of herrings
peculiar to special regions of the “herring area”
(and there is much reason for believing this to be
the case), which merely shift their position from
the deep to the shallow part of each region, and
vice versa.

©. Whether there are or are not, besides these indi-
genous races, others which are migratory, either
as a regular habit, or in consequence of variations
in the food, climate, &c. of their proper region.

* Northern Ensign, June 1857.

304 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

You are therefore requested to furnish accurate answers
to the following questions :—

1. What was the precise date of the first appearance of
herring during the present year, and in any other
years of which you have accurate record P

2. If there are distinct spring, summer, and winter
herring fisheries, state the date of the com-
mencement and ending of each.

. 8. Do the fishermen distinguish different kinds among
the herrings ?

4. Do they regard some sorts as native herrings and
others as visitors ?

5. Are full-grown herrings ever taken in the hauling
of nets that may be used in fishing, at times not
included in the herring season ?

6. Are young herrings taken in this or other modes
(as in sprat nets, for instance), throughout the
year, or in any part of it besides the herring
season P

7. What is the average length of the herring taken
on this station ? and what is the size of mesh in
the nets used ?

8. If there are distinct spring, summer, and winter
fisheries, is there any marked difference of size
and condition between the herrings of each ?

9, Send three specimens—ungutted and preserved in
strong spirits—of what is considered to be the
average herring at your station, stating the pre-
cise time at which they were taken.

10. If there are spring, summer, and winter fisheries,
send specimens of each fishery, stating the precise
time at which they were taken.

11. If any distinction is made between native herrings

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 305

and visitors, send specimens of each, stating the
precise time at which they were taken.
Note.—It is particularly important to have specimens
of the large herring said to be taken in the Shetland and
Orkney Isles and also in Loch Fyne.

BoArD OF FISHERIES, EDINBURGH,
January 1857.

ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS IN AID OF THE OBSERVATIONS TO
SOLVE THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING, ORDERED
BY THE LORDS OF THE COMMITTEE OF PRIVY COUNCIL FOR
TRADE.

1. Give the date, day, and hour of casting the nets.

2. State where—the distance from the shore, and the
direction from the nearest headland.

3. State—The depth of water by sounding
fathoms. Length of buoy-rope, fathoms. Depth
of net, fathoms. Whether the upper or the lower
part of the net was best fished. The nature of the ground
where caught—whether gravelly, rocky, sandy, &e.

4. Give—the direction and force of the wind and the
state of the atmosphere ; the temperature of the air by
thermometer; the temperature of the water at the surface
‘by thermometer ; the temperature of the water below by
deep-sea thermometer, and at what depth. Any other
similar remarks, as for instance—the colour of the water,
the clearness of the sea, thunder-clouds, &c.,

5. State the quantity caught; what sort of herrings ;
the average size.

BoarD OF FISHERIES, EDINBURGH,
January 1857.

These queries illustrate the truth that hitherto very

little has been known as to the herring and its habits,
U

306 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

and we believe that it was found impossible to get such
queries answered by fishermen, who had other duties.

1857-8.—In the latter part of the year 1857 and be-
ginning of 1858, the herring-fishery was very successful
at Lochbroom; it began about the middle of October, at
Isle Martin, about ten miles above the entrance to the
loch, and continued, with tolerable success, until the 17th
November, when the fishing became so abundant that every
boat was filled; and there were about 300 boats employed,
besides a number of larger boats having small boats em-
ployed in fishing and bringing the herrings on board.
The shoal of herrings on the 24th November moved
higher up to Letters, at the top of the loch, which is
about twelve miles above Isle Martin, and the fishing
continued to be successful there until the 16th December.
After the 16th December, large shoals appeared again at
Isle Martin, which continued until the 29th December.
In that neighbourhood the herrings were on this occasion
so abundant that some boats got 60 crans in their drift
or set of nets by three or four o'clock a.m.; and the boats
being generally small at this fishing, some of them had to
return four or five times to empty their nets left in the
water. The size of the herrings was about Class 10,
but on the 10th of January 1858, and for a few nights
thereafter, some boats caught considerable quantities of
the small or native herrings, but this shoal had also a
considerable portion of large full herrings, of a size equal
to Class 6, or 600 to a barrel. The small herrings dis-
appeared this year, as they generally do, about the begin-
ning of the year, and were succeeded by the large herrings,
which were fished in considerable quantities, until the
beginning of February; and on the 6th February, each boat
fished about 20 crans.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 307

At Lochinver and Glendhu the herrings have been also
abundant, and fished in considerable quantities about the
same time, of a similar size to the kind fished at Loch-
broom.

REPORT, 1858, OF DUTCH HERRING-FISHERY 1857.

The herring-fishery in Holland, once so successful,
having gradually declined, partly in consequence of the
improved quality of the Scottish cured herrings supplant-
ing the Dutch herrings in the continental markets, the
Government of Holland wished to take active measures
to resuscitate or improve the system in that country, and,
in 1857, adopted and copied to a considerable extent the
regulations which have been so successfully followed out
by the Fishery Board in Scotland, and which have brought
the Scottish Herring-Fishery to be one of unexampled
prosperity. For the first time a Herring-Fishery Board
was appointed this year in Holland, and several im-
portant laws and regulations were enacted, and, among
others, the Crown brand has been introduced, together with
various brands or marks expressive of the different quali-
ties, so that everything proves that great efforts will be
used to increase a fishery which at one time brought so
much wealth into Holland, and laid the foundation of its
great industrious prosperity. For the first time also the
Commissioners of the Dutch Fishery Board, nine in num-
ber, are required, in imitation also of our Fishery Board,
to give an annual report of the fishery, and from this docu-
ment we learn that the Board was installed on the 15th
December 1857.

It appears that the greatest difficulty which attends the
Dutch herring-fishery is one which long impeded the Scot-

tish fishery, namely, the salt duties, which now no longer
u 2

308 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

exist in Britain. Several rules have been issued by the
Dutch authorities on this head, which seem very judicious,
as well as those as to the assorting of the herrings, the
quality and size of the casks, and the orders to the in-
spectors, several new ones having been appointed ; but
everything we see in this Report proves that we owe the
great increase of the fishery on our coast to the system
of management under a well-regulated Board, and to the
care and attention of the fishery-officers, who have become
thoroughly instructed and acquainted with their useful,
responsible duties, from the great number of years the
various laws and rules have been elaborated by the test of
experience.

That some such step was necessary in Holland, is proved
from the Report now before us. Not many years since (in
1833) upwards of 300 busses were fitted out from Holland ;
but now, in 1857, the number employed in the herring-
fishery was only 90, namely :—

From Vlaardingen, 58
», Delfshaven, 1
» Gwartewal, Hi)
» Middelharnis, 3)
5, Pernis, 1
» Maassluis, . rf
» Enkhuizen, 7
» De Rijp, 4
»5 Wormerveer, 1
, Amsterdam, 3

Total, 90

Hach manned with 15 men, the total number of the crews
being 1350; and even this number of 90 exceeds by 8 the
busses fitted out the preceding year; and, notwithstand- -
ing that this number was so small, the result of the fishery
was not satisfactory, for the Commissioners report :—

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 309

‘“‘ Unfortunately, the result of this year’s fishery has not
come up to the expectations which were formed. The
take was less than an average ; and it fell, particularly
during the yacht time, much lower than in the preceding
year. Although three more yachts (jaugers) were fitted
out, the quantity brought by them was fully less than half
the quantity brought in by the jaugers (yachts) in 1856.
Indeed, the last jauger had to return empty.”

The entire quantity caught by the busses was as follows,
in the three successive years of—

1855. 1856. 1857.
Full Herrings, Bo ed Wie, 2057 1268 lasts.
Maatjes, ,, wae 62 75 5B
Empty, ,, ate 285 434 200
Spawned, ,, Lie er ste ln ye

2082 2566 1554

At 14 barrels per last, 29,148 35,924 21,756 barrels.

The loss to the owners from the small take in 1857
was to a great extent made up by the high prices obtained
on account of the short supply; the thirty-two lasts of
yacht herrings were sold for 46,000 guilders (about L.8
per barrel of herrings), while the seventy lasts of 1856
only sold for 59,200 guilders, about L.5 per barrel on an
average.

The exportation from Holland during the six fcllowing
years was in

Lasts. Barrels.
1852, 2 a 975 Lie 13,650
1853, it +. 1111 ie 15,554
1854, ane fA 1254 an 16,556
1855, 600 a0" 1 Abr fos} ins 16,442
1856, we i 1447 oy 20,258
1857, ae a. 996 - 13,994

The subjoined is a list of the busses fitted out during
the ten years from 1848 inclusive, and the number of

310 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

barrels fished and cured, and number of barrels caught on
the average by each buss :—

Per Buss,

— Wiares ae
1848, oe . 107 ae 2900 ee 17
ine gets... (eee ee
1850, a ae 102 2 1515 aie 24
1851, ae Be 97 ae 2454 5. 25
Iss ded 98-7 | eee
Isso <8. ol ee
1aade NE Sahel tget OS STis SL Sie
ipss, Eee ee BIE i! 42058) eee
ee ee ee ee ee
IDB oo decie eee IO, aacs 0) SHG te ee

There are also several parts of the coast of Holland
where the fishermen take herrings of a small or inferior
quality, and also sprats, for the purpose of smoking and
pickling. It is remarkable, that in the Zuyder-Zee, in the
year 1857, the fishery af the peculiar quality caught there
was much diminished, and the fishermen sustained great
loss to their nets, in consequence of the unusual number of
dog-fish; and the same destructive fish was very abundant
and injurious to the fishermen, both on the West Coast
and the East Coast of Scotland in the same year.

The fishery in the Zuyder-Zee is called the “pan-fishery,”
the herrings are caught late in the year, and in the begin-
uing of the year; and the report says, that it has been
observed that the pan herrings have for some years ap-
peared later than in former years, which has had some
influence on the prices, because the demand is generally
greatest during the fast weeks of the Roman Catholics.

The quantity brought in of this description of herring
to Monnikendam, the head-quarters of this fishery, con-
sisted of only 1198 lasts, of about 10,000 herrings to the
last, against 1539 lasts in the preceding year. The

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 311

quantity brought into Wollenhove consisted of 5836 lasts,
and to Enkhuizen, of 3807 lasts.

From Harderwyk were sent out the following quantities
in Netherlands pounds (2 lbs. British each) in each of the
following years :—

Inland Foreign

Consumption. Consumption.
1855, aa act 200,410 00 1100
1856, ae wor 250,564 sen 1200
1857, ae nae 223,355 as 1069

From this quarter forty-one vessels were fitted out, in
1857, to this fishery in the Zuyder-Zee, and there are eight
smoking-houses to prepare the red herrings.

The boats fitted out for the fresh-herring fishery, and
the quantity and values, are as follows :—

Boats. Herrings. cane 7 = eae
Scheveningen, 116 22,320,700 350,560 L.29,213
Katwyk, : 35 6,559,850 94,580 7,875
Noordwyk, . 6 923,000 10,973 914

157 29,803,550 456,113 L.38,002

oO

Which fishery, although producing 6,400,000 fewer her-
rings than in 1856, yielded about 3000 guilders more
money.

In the Report of the Results of the Journals kept by
forty-five Busses, published by the Meteorological Society
of Holland, 1848, we are told that in June and July the
herrings left the east side'of the Shetland Islands, and
proceeded by two different ways towards the south. They
remained in the end of July principally between 56° and
57° north latitude, and proceeded towards the Scottish
coasts between 55° and 56° N. Lat. in August. In Sep-
tember they began to proceed in a contrary direction

312 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

towards the north, in two wide-spread shoals. In October
the herrings had proceeded so far northwards, that they
could be taken in greatest abundance between 58° and
60° N. Lat. ; and in November the herrings were not to be
found south of 59° N. Lat.*

It is impossible in this work to give the particulars
of the fishery of each year at the various localities, but it
is extremely interesting and very instructive to notice
the progress of the fishery at any given locality during a
season. Jor instance, by a tabular view of the fishery
at Wick in 1858, we see in the beginning of the
fishery the gradual approach of the herrings to the coast,
and the gradual increase of the shoal or shoals off Wick,—
namely, it will be found by the following table that the
boats began to try on 10th July, that no quantity of import-
ance was caught until the 11th and 12th of August, when
each boat averaged on the first day 11 crans or barrels,
and on the other 22 barrels; that on the succeeding days,
until the 28th of the same month, few were caught, and
that the boats only averaged 12 crans on that day ; and
that thereafter, until the 28d September, no shoals had
been discovered, but that on that day only one boat which
had gone out fished 17 crans, and the whole average at
the conclusion of the fishing was only 85 crans to each
boat, whereas in 1855 the average was 142 barrels to
each boat.

* Uitkomsten Verkregen uit de Journalen der Harengschepen uitgege-
yen doer het Kouinklyk Nederlandsch Meteorologisch Institut, p. 8.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 313

Daily Take at Wick—Season 1858.

Daily Progressive Daily Total Catch

aa S| ven, |e | ee
Crans, Crans. Crans. Crans.
July 10, i 1 0 a 7
18, 70 0 0 6 18
14, 40 0 0 5 18
15, 20 0 0 2 20
23, 120 3 0 80 100
24, 300 4 0 100 200
97, 600 1} 1 900 1,100
28, 800 1} 2 1,000 2,100
29, 900 4 * 24 225 2,325
30, 900 $ 24 300 2,625
31, 800 omei 5 2,400 5,025
Aug. 3, 6 0 5 ei 5,025
4, 800 2 63 1,600 6,625
5, 1000 i} 74 1,250 7,875
6, 1040 14 94 1,560 9,435
i 1040 2 114 2,080 11,515
10, 1040 2h 133 2,600 | 14,115
inl 1040 18 32 18,720 82,835
12; 1040 22 54 22,880 55,715
13, 1000 6 60 6,000 61,715
14, 1000 4 64 4,000 65,715
ts 1040 4 64 260 65,975
ES o mae. 600 x: 64 150 | 66,125
ORAS ae 150 $ 64 75 66,200
ZO eet isise 100 4 644 50 66,250
24, 1061 2 664 Pay | 68,372
DOR ede Hats 1061 4 704 4,244 72,616
2s iareeeiee ure 800 4 73 3,200 75,816
BT Bint Fac 800 4 76 3,200 | 79,016
28, 400 12 80 4,800 83,816
31, 1000 2 804 667 | 84,483
Sept. 1, 1050 34 834 8,675 | 88,158
we 250 24 84 675 88,833
4, 300 1 84 800 89,183
ie 10 2 84 200) .89,153. |
8, 200 1 844 200 89,3853
9, 200 1 4 200 | 89,553
14, 60 1 844 60 | 89,613
15, 100 5 85 500 | 90,118
16, 120 2, 85 240 90,3853
alee. 70 3 85 210 90,563
mile 30 4 85 120 90,683
22, 40 2, 85 80 90,763
23, 1 1¢/ 85 7 90,780 |
24, 5 6 85 30 90,810 |

Average for the season—85 crans. |

314 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

The short fishing, or the small quantity caught as
compared with the fishing of 1855, does not prove that
there were fewer herrings on the coast, but that the shoals
may not have been discovered. At Fraserburgh, the same
year, the average fishing of each boat was 151 crans, while
it was only 90 crans the previous year.

In the year 1856, in consequence of objections by some
members of the House of Commons to the expenditure
in supporting the Fishery Board and the system of super-
intendence and branding, and notwithstanding the elabo-
rate and carefully prepared report of the Right Hon. J. G.
8. Lefevre on the subject, which went fully into the ques-
tion, and proved the advantage and propriety of con-
tinuing the system, and which we give in a preceding part
of this work, a second Commission of Inquiry was appointed,
consisting of two English gentlemen, Bonamy Price and
Frederick St John, Hsq., and an Irish gentleman, Capt.
Sullivan, R.N., whose opinions, although expected to be
otherwise, did not agree, and the members of the Com-
mission therefore gave in separate reports, the majority
in number having reported in favour of the continuance
of the brand and of the system. ‘To exhibit the opinions
of the different members, we give the following extracts
of the report of Messrs Price and St John, a remarkably
well written and elaborate report, going over all the argu-
ments for and against the inspection of the officers and
the system of branding, which is too extensive to give at
length, but the most striking remarks furnished by them
are the following :—

“The first argument pleaded by the defenders of the
brand, states, we conceive, the real issue to be tried.
We have to deal with an established and flourishing trade.
It employs an immense capital, draws out of the sea a

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY, 315

large proportion of the revenue of Scotland, and is the
chief means of subsistence of a considerable part of the
population of that kingdom. Still more, it exhibits those
signs of healthy life for which the invigorating impulses
of competition are sought and valued. It is progressive.
It grapples with formidable rivals, and conquers them.
Since 1848, the quantity of herrings imported from Great
Britain into the ports of Stettin, Konigsberg, Hamburg
and Dantzic, has increased from 100,297 to 318,263 barrels
in 1855; whilst the Dutch imports into the same places
have declined from 5019 to 1300 barrels, and the Nor-
wegian from 194,862 to 122,423 barrels. Is it politic to
disturb such an organization ? Can an adequate motive be
alleged strong enough to call for and justify interference ?
Is it desirable to destroy, in exchange for another, a
machinery which is certainly the concomitant, but which
is also represented by a majority of those who carry on
the trade to be an efficient instrument of its prosperity ?
Such we consider to be the practical question to which
we are required to give an answer. 1. Now it is essential
to observe, that the services performed by the branding
are necessary for the herring trade, and must, under
any system, be accomplished by some machinery or other.
Every part of the work done by the fishery-officers is not
only useful but indispensable. Gutters and picklers must
be watched, for a few broken or ill-assorted fish would
greatly impair the mercantile value of a barrel of her-
rings. There must be inspection before purchase. That
the fishery-officers discharge their duties with admirable
judgment, is cheerfully, and even gratefully acknowledged
by all parties. ..... Amidst the many attacks made
on the brand, there was no accusation that the vast export
which it covered ever deceived the confidence of buyers.

316 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

“Tt cannot be said that the abolition of the brand is
demanded by public opinion in Scotland. It encounters
the active hostility of some portion of the press; but the
opinion of the great majority of the traders is loud in its
favour. On the West Coast, which supplies the home
markets, and does not use the brand, there is no marked
demand for its removal...... We are at a loss for
a principle on which we could urge the Government
to take away from a great trade a convenience which
we have shown to be harmless, which will cost the
nation nothing, and whose value will be attested by the
surest of proofs—the free demand of the traders to
purchase it. 4

“On all these grounds, we have come to the opinion
that the abolition of the brand is inexpedient; and we
beg to recommend to my Lords its continuance, on condi-
tion that it shall be self-supporting.”

Other remarks are made in this report as to measures,
conventions with foreign powers, police, and trawling,
which do not require to be particularly noticed here.

Captain Sullivan, in his separate report, says :—

‘1st, As to the effect of the brand on the cure.

‘“Tts advocates assert that it is owing to the brand alone
that the present cure has been reached, and that without
it the cure will fall off, as it is the influence of the officers
over all persons employed that keeps up the cure, and not
the personal interest of the curer.

“Its opponents, on the contrary, insist that it prevents
a still better cure, as it brings down the price of all
branded fish to the level of the lowest quality—that is, just
good enough for the brand; and they assert that the inte-
rest of the curer, and his desire to establish a character
for his own brand, must at least have as much effect in

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 317

preserving a good cure as any inspection by a government
officer.

‘2d, The importance of the brand to the curer and
buyer.

“Its advocates assert that it gives great facility for
carrying on the trade, and that without it the difficulty
of getting the fish into the German market would be so
great, that a serious Injury would be done to all connected
with the catch, cure, or sale of herrings.

“On the other hand, its opponents allow that it has
helped to establish the trade; but they assert that the
time has arrived when all Government interference should
cease, and the trade allowed to stand on its own merits
alone. They also speak with confidence of being able to
carry it on without experiencing the difficulties and in-
juries the other party fears... ... The chief value of
the brand to the purchaser is, that even without knowing
anything of the article he is dealing in, he can, without
any trouble or expense, buy parcels of cured herrings,
which have been inspected by a government officer, and
a certain quality guaranteed by a government brand.
Without the brand, he would either have to inspect every
parcel he buys, in the same way the officer now inspects
them, or, if incompetent to decide on the quality of cure,
he would have to employ an agent to do that portion of
the work for him.”

After various other remarks of a similar kind, he
says :—

“Having given the whole subject, which was entirely new
to me, my most serious consideration, I have no hesitation
in advising strongly, that instead of attempting to con-
tinue the Government interference in this objectionable
manner, it should be entirely withdrawn, after sufficient

318 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

notice being given, and the trade left to depend on its
own merits alone. I cannot conclude this subject with-
out bearing my estimony to the merits of the officers of
the British Fishery as a body. It is highly creditable to
them, that out of the large number of witnesses examined
privately, many of course opposed to the officers, and
some few annoyed, because at one time or other their fish
had been rejected for the brand on what they considered
too slight grounds, not one failed to do justice to the
strictly honourable conduct of every officer they had met
with.”

Captain Sullivan also gives his opinions on measures,
size of barrels, and the other heads of inquiry.

Considering that these gentlemen had no previous
knowledge of this important national fishery, it must be
admitted that they seem to have endeavoured to make
themselves masters of the important interests involved ;
but while examining as to facts connected with the brand,
they seem to have forgotten—Captain Sullivan particu-
larly—that besides the quality of the fish, the fishery
officers attend to THE SIZE AND STRENGTH OF THE BARKELS,
THE EFFICIENCY OF THE SALT AND PICKLE, SIZES OF NETS, the
MEASURES FOR FRESH FISH, SEES THAT THEY ARE PROPERLY
PACKED, PACKED WITHIN THE PROPER TIME, and VARIOUS
OTHER DUTIES, amounting to at least seventeen branches.

In 1858, the Fishery Commissioners of Ireland seeing
the advantage of restricting river trawling, ordered that
the following localities on the Irish Coast be subjected
to the fence law, pointing out to us the propriety of
following such a wise example :—

“ Dublin Bay.—Prohibiting trawling inside lines drawn
from the Bailey Lighthouse at Howth to the easternmost
point of the rocks called the ‘Mugglins; thence by a

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 319

straight line to the southern point of Dalkey Island;
thence by a straight line across Dalkey Sound, in the
direction of the signal station on Killiney Hill.

“« Hast Coast.—Prohibiting trawling within a line
drawn from the Nose of Howth to the eastern point of
St Patrick’s Island (Skerries); thence to Clogher Head ;
thence to Dunany Point; thence to Cranfield Point, in
the County Down.

“ Dundrum Bay, &c.—Prohibiting trawling from Helly-
hunter Rock, off Cranfield Point, to St John’s Point, both
in the County Down.

“ Belfast Lough.—Prohibiting trawling within a straight
line drawn from the Castle of Carrickfergus to Rockport,
in the County Antrim, and from 1st December to 1st April,
and the use of nets of less mesh than one and three-quarter
inches from knot to knot (except draft nets for herrings).

“ Tough Swilly.— Prohibiting trawling within a line
from Knockalla Battery on the west side, to Linsfort
Church on the east side of the Lough.

“ Donegal Bay.—Prohibiting trawling within a straight
line from the Biau Rock to a place called Doorin Point ;
and from a place called the Blind Rock to the northern
point of the Townland of Rossnowlagh, Lower; and from
thence to Killdoney Point; and from thence to a place
called Pointinchose.

“Galway Bay.—Prohibiting trawling within a line
from Barna Pier to Gleninagh Castle. Also when large
shoals of herrings shall have set in in the Bay, and while
boats are engaged in drifting for herrings or mackerel,
and when boats shall commence fishing for herrings or
mackerel, that trawl-boats shall keep at a distance of
three miles from them.

“ Dingle Bay.—Prohibiting trawling within a straight

320 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

line from Bull’s Head, near Dingle, to Cununna, near
Valentia.

“ Bantry Bay.—Prohibiting trawling within a straight
line from Crowdy Point to Carrigskye Rock; and from
thence to Reenavanny Point, on the north shore of Whiddy
Island. |

“ Waterford Harbour.—Prohibiting trawling within a
line drawn from Creden Head to Temple Church.

“ Weaford Coast.—Prohibiting trawling in all places
where there are boats engaged in herring or mackerel drift-
net fishing; and that trawl boats shall keep at a distance
of at least three miles from all boats fishing for herrings
or mackerel with drift nets. And whenever herring or
mackerel boats shall commence drift-net fishing in any
place on or off the coast of Wexford, the trawl boats
shall depart therefrom, and keep at least three miles
distant from the drift-net herring or mackerel boats.”

With the view of lessening the expense to the nation
of maintaining the Fishery Board and the officers of
inspection, an Act was passed on the 2d August 1858, the
21 and 22 Vict. cap. 69, requiring that a fee of 4d. per
barrel and 2d. per half-barrel should be paid by the appli-
cants for the brand, when the officers apply it on finding
the persons entitled to this test of quality ; the fee to be
collected for, aud paid over to, the Consolidated Fund.

We find the following account of the state of the
fishery at Wick published in the Northern Ensign of
16th December 1858, which exhibits in a striking manner
the great progress of the fishery since the year mentioned
(1800), at that port :—

‘* OUR FISHING IN 1800.

“Through the kindness of a local gentleman, we are

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 321

enabled to lay before our readers a view of the herring
fishing in 1800, on which year the total catch was less
than 6000 barrels, or about one-fourth of what was caught
in one day during the past season. Of the sixteen curers
named in the following list only one survives— Mr Donald
Bremner. It is also worthy of notice that not a barrel
went foreign, and that upwards of a third of the whole
catch went off in the shape of red herrings. Whata
change is now, when 100,000 barrels are an average catch,
when the curers number about 120, when red herrings are
almost unknown, when the greater part of our shipments
go to the Continent, and when scarcely a barrel is sent
to London :”’—

‘Report to the Honourable the Trustees for Fisheries, &c.,
by William Macleay, Curemaster of Herrings at Wick,
for the year from 1st April 1800 to Ist April 1801.

Proprietor's Name. i eee. Pail a

A. Miller, Staxigoe . . . | London, Sunderland, & Dunbar | 1454}
G. Tower, of Aberdeen . London . . . 736
ie ullor Berwick... . Do. and Berwick . . . .| 629
By Ban, Waelet 7.0.03) Do. and Leith . . . . .} 447
eae Willer, Do: 7.) a Do. DOS ae ee ak ey Gade
NCO) Sie Da AM eae aang) (AME = Tht Rem eS UWA eRe Pic B67 2150)
BT DOr sped sesed 351 DOs eg) (20) eo aia 42 aed oe 76
H. Craig, Do. Be Doar ie Ree tes 98
Ss. Sutherland, Wick . . Fea ewe Ceara, ke fet: 64
PP Bremner 0. i eon pane Aisa Genny Atel de Igy bee
A. Bowie, Dore vs i) ORME er en Peary a) eS 164
J. Gray, DO Nee bosses Oa, 8 OLS 260
J. Parquhar so. 9 ch eMo.-and Tondo. x). ..4 3/5 Choz
F. Quoys, UDYeeeer gull al BYoy So sate aE mL
G. Wares, Doe By wy Bet anid London .,. +...) peel
B. Henderson, Oletinnet aomdon tt So) el roam

| 57244

Of which 20383 barrels made into red herrings.’

322 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

In 1859 a correspondence commenced as to the reduc-
tion of the duties in this country and France between the
authorities of the two countries, which movement had
been promoted by the exertions of Mr Cobden; and in
1860 a treaty was concluded, giving encouragement to
the commercial relations of both countries. Seeing that
this was a favourable opportunity to obtain an additional
market for herrings and other fish in France, we submitted
to the Chamber of Commerce and Manufactures of our
Scottish Metropolis the propriety of taking advantage of
this favourable opportunity, by endeavouring to obtain a
reduction of the then prohibitory duties in France on
herrings and other fish ; and the motion proposed having
been unanimously agreed to, a petition was forwarded to
the Lords of the Privy Council for Trade, which was
favourably entertained; and the following report, pre-
sented by us to the Chamber of Commerce, will prove
that the exertions we used met with favourable results,
considering the strong obstacles raised by some of the
influential interests in France :—

Report on that part of the Tariff under the Commercial
Treaty with France applicable to Fish, the pro-
duce of this country, in connection with the Me-
morial from the Chamber of Commerce and Manu-
factures, addressed to the Lords of the Privy Council
for Trade, praying that influence might be used to
obtain a Reduction of the Duty on Fish imported
into France.

‘The Reporter having moved the Chamber to adopt and
forward the Memorial on this subject,—which was much
strengthened by a petition from the principal merchants
and those interested to a similar purport ; by the Commis-

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 323

sioners of the British Fisheries, who sent representations
to the proper quarter; and by the inhabitants of Great
Yarmouth, &c., who applied through their representatives
to the Government,—he now has respectfully to state that
the propriety of using every exertion is the more obvious
and urgent, because fish is not specially mentioned in
the original treaty, and the necessity for moving to obtain
a reduction of the duty on fish is very evident. Scotland
produces annually a large amount in value of herrings
(which are now admitted as being equal to the Dutch), cod,
ling, tusk, and saith, and are consumed largely in various
foreign countries where the duty is not prohibitive
The coasts of England also produce large quantities of
herrings, cod, lng and mackerel, particularly on the
coasts of Norfolk, Cornwall, &c., all at moderate prices,
and in great abundance; but the French duty on impor-
tation of fish, the produce of our coasts, has been hitherto
quite prohibitory,—the rate exacted is: Fish of the sea,
if foreign fishery, dry, salted, or smoked, per 100 kilo-
erammes, gross weight, 48 francs, which is equal to about
20s. per 112 lb., or on a barrel of herrings about L.3, 10s.,
and cod fish, per cwt., L.1, which, taking the value of the
staple articles of herring and cod, the former at 30s. per
barrel, and the latter at 20s. per cwt., are about 230 per
cent. on herrings, and 100 per cent. additional value on
cod. These high and prohibitory rates arise from the
desire on the part of the French Government to en-
courage the fisheries for the purpose of increasing the
number of seamen for the navy, and this encouragement
has been the means no doubt of greatly increasing the
fisheries. I may mention, for instance, that every year
there proceed to the cod fishery near Iceland about 350

French large decked vessels; and a great many of smaller
x 2

324 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

sized ships fish herrings under a special treaty on our
coasts ; and about 300 or 400 large ships proceed annually
to the cod fisheries of Newfoundland, while the French
local fisheries in the Mediterranean and in the Channel
employ a great number of fishermen.

“What may be considered the most important coast
or local fisheries of France are those of the-tunny, the
herring, and the anchovy. The tunny is taken in con-
siderable quantities by nets in the Mediterranean, on the
coasts of Provence, and weighing sometimes as much as
120 lb. each. At the fish-market of Marseilles, in Sep-
tember, I found that the tunny was the principal fish
consumed. On the coast of Bayonne there is also a con-
siderable fishery of this fish by the line from April to
October, one boat taking as many as 150 at atime. It
is used fresh, or in oil, and sent to considerable distances
for sale. The herring is caught sometimes in large quan-
tities off the French coast in the Channel, in the end of
the year. Off the coast of Brittany, the sardine employs
about 1200 boats from June to October, and, when it is
preserved in oil, is exported in vast quantities from
France, and is well known and much esteemed in this
country. It will therefore be seen that France is much
better supplied with sea fish than is generally supposed.
In addition to the supply of fish from the sea, the fish-
markets of France are generally well supplied with fresh-
water fish ; and one of the finest sights in Paris is the
admirably constructed and extensive fish-market in that
city, where several of the different kinds of fresh-water
fish are kept at every stall alive, such as tench, dace, pike,
eels, &c., in pure water, without the slightest offensive
odour. The march of civilisation as to fish-markets in Paris
is certainly much superior to ours in this country. Our

SLVOG DONIHSIA HONEA

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 325

markets often exhibit slovenliness and ignorance on the
part of the authorities, and particularly in those of the
capitals—Edinburgh, London, and Dublin.

“When at Paris, I represented to Her Majesty’s Pleni-
potentiary, Mr Cobden, and the other two commissioners
verbally, the advantages to be gained not only by this
country, but by the French, who, particularly the manu-
facturing population in the large towns in France, would
gain by being able, generally at all times, when butcher-
meat is scarce, to obtain such fish of superior quality as this
country can furnish, were the duties of importation reduced.

“* As already said, although fish is not specified in the
Commercial Treaty, I am favoured with a letter, of which
the following is a copy, from Her Majesty's Plenipoten-
tiary, Mr Cobden, by which we are now informed that the
duty on the importation of all sea fish has been greatly
reduced, with the exception of the duty on cod fish :—

“¢ Paris, 14th November 1860.
“<Dear Sir,—The duty on fish, with the exception of
cod, has been fixed, and will be published with the re-
mainder of the tariff, I expect, in a week or two. This
question, as you are aware, involves the consideration of
the salt-tax in France, for which there is a slight addition
to be made to the duty on foreign fish. You will find,
however, a considerable reduction on the former rate, and
I hope it will lead to a trade to the mutual benefit of both

countries.—I remain, &c.,
(Signed) “‘R. CoppEn.’

“The reduction obtained by Mr Cobden is unquestion-
ably considerable. As before stated, the duty hitherto
has been, on sea fish 48 francs the 100 kilogrammes—
about 20s. per cwt.—and it will now be reduced to about

326 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

4s. per cwt. The French tariff will now, therefore,
stand—

‘All fresh-water fish (which is stated in the tariff to
include salmon, smelts, shads, and mullets),
imported fresh, are free of duty.

‘‘ Wresh-water fish, if prepared, 10 francs per 100 kilo-
grammes.

‘““Sea-water fish, fresh, salted, dry, or smoked (except
cod), 10 francs per 100 kilogrammes, or about 4s.
per cwt.

“ As the duty has hitherto been charged on the gross
weight in France, if the same system is continued, the
amount of duty will be increased about one-fifth on all
barrelled fish, which is a very serious addition to the duty.
It is to be regretted that cod-fish is excluded from the
reduction of duty; but considering the whole question of
the duties in France, there can be no doubt that much
credit is due to Her Majesty’s Plenipotentiary, Mr Cobden,
in having so far broken down the prohibitory system in
that country, and so far begun to prove the propriety and
justice of reciprocity between nations, if commerce is to
be carried on to mutual benefit. The advantage thus
gained by such exertions proves how useful it would be
were we to have commercial ambassadors or commissioners
resident at every capital of commercial importance in
Europe, to watch over and promote British interests.
L.7000 or L.8000 expended annually in this way, if judi-
ciously employed, might bring great additional wealth to
the British nation.—Respectfully submitted by

(Signed) “J. M. Mrrcwenn.”

‘On the motion of the Chairman, seconded by Mr
ilewat, a cordial vote of thanks was accorded to Mr

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY, 327

Mitchell for his exertions in connection with this sub-
ject.” And in the annual printed Report of the Chamber,
dated ‘‘ January 1861,” the above is thus referred to :—
“At Paris, Mr J. M. Mitchell was empowered to repre-
sent the Chamber as to that part of the tariff applicable
to fish, and in the Report communicated to the Chamber,
shows the importance to this country of the reduction con-
ceded by the French upon the duties formerly exigible.”

As serious complaints were made from time to time
that illegal nets were used, particularly on the West Coast
of Scotland, at improper times, to take the fry and
inferior herrings, an Act was passed on the 13th August
1860, enacting—

‘““{st, The Commissioners to appoint superintendents
of the herring fishery, to exercise all the powers con-
ferred by previous Acts, except the superintending of the
curing and branding; and any person obstructing such
officers shall be liable to a penalty of L.50, or imprison-
ment not exceeding sixty days.

“2d, Prohibits fishing herrings or fry on the West
Coasts of Scotland, between the points of Ardnamurchan
on the north and the Mull of Galloway on the south, at
any time between the Ist of January and 31st of May
inclusive in any year, or between Cape Wrath on the
north and the said point of Ardnamurchan on the south,
at any time between the Ist of January and 20th of May
inclusive; and the Commissioners may, on application,
make resolutions and fix the periods during which it
shall not be lawful to take or fish herrings within any
other limits or locality on the coasts of Scotland; any
breach of such enactment or such regulations subjects the
offender to a penalty of not under L.5 nor exceeding

328 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

L.20, and all nets used shall be lable to be seized and
forfeited.

‘3d, The Commissioners may from time to time make
such regulations as they shall think fit for the more
effectual government, management, and protection of the
herring fishery on the coasts of Scotland, and for the pre-
servation of order; and any person who commits any
breach in contravention of any such regulation shall be
liable to have his boat detained, and to a penalty of L.d,
and not exceeding L.20, for every offence.

4th, The Commissioners may, on application, prohibit
on the coasts of Scotland the use of any trawl, drag, or
beam net injurious to the spawn of herring or the herring
fishery ; and any breach of such prohibition will subject
the offender to L.5, and not exceeding L.20.

5th, The Commissioners may rescind, alter, or amend
any regulations made by the authority of this Act; and all
such regulations must be submitted to the Lords of the
Treasury for approval, and be duly published by printed
copies, and exhibited for two weeks before taking effect.

6th, Any breach of the provisions of the 6th section of
the Act 14 and 15 Vict. cap. 26, shall subject the offender
to a penalty not under L.5 and not over L.20, together
with forfeiture of the net. '

7th, All boats, sails, buoys, and all other implements of
fishing belonging to small boats, shall be marked under such
regulations as the Commissioners may issue, and, if not so
marked, shall be lable to seizure, and may be detained for
a period not exceeding one month; and all boats shall
have the name of the owner, and the port or place to which
she belongs, painted in white or yellow Roman letters, of
two inches in length, on a black ground, and may be seized
and detained for one month if such are awanting.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 329

8th, The herring fishery shall be held to be carried on
wherever herrings are being caught; and every net other
than drift-nets which may be used for the purpose of
taking herrings in contravention of the 6th section of the
Act 14 and 15 Vict., cap. 26, shall, during the time of the
herring fishery, be removed and laid aside, or shall be
liable to be seized and forfeited, and the owner thereof
proceeded against accordingly, and such net forfeited
and destroyed, and the possessor subjected to the penalty
imposed by the existing Acts.

9th, Her Majesty may appoint five additional Commis-—
sioners of the Fishery Board besides the Commissioners
appointed under previous Acts.

1860.—The prejudice still manifested by the fishermen
generally against beam-trawling has been strongly ex-
pressed, by the Claddagh fishermen at Galway in Ireland,
among other places, who maintain that the herrings are
annually diminishing in Galway Bay, where they were pre-
viously abundant ; and (as the quality there is rather above
the ordinary description of herrings fished on the Irish
coasts), it is very desirable that due inquiry be made, and
proper legislation applied. It is of much importance that
we should ascertain the advantages obtained, and the
injury done, by beam-trawling. If it can be established
that the process of such trawling breaks or scares away
the herring shoals, and if the beam-trawls fall on, and dis-
perse and destroy the deposited spawn or young herring
or fry, the trawling ought to be prohibited at such places
and periods when the injury occurs. To show to what
extent the trawling is believed to be injurious by the
fishermen in Ireland, we here give extracts of the re-
ports of the Commissioners of Fisheries for Ireland for
1860, by which it appears that the spirit of resistance has

330 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

gone so far at Galway as to occasion serious cases of
breaches of the peace and destruction of property, while.
part of the report of the Inspector elucidates the advantage
of local fishery officers to instruct, and to prevent riots
and disorder among the fishermen.

The inspecting Commissioners say—‘‘ From Galway
Bay we have had during the past year applications from
the Claddagh fishermen to extend the line more westward,
within which the use of the trawl-net should be prohibited.”

‘“ Patient and lengthened public inquiries were held for
three days. The demand made by the Claddagh fisher-
men extended to the prohibition of trawling about eight
miles beyond Blackhead, which, if complied with, would
have the practical effect of preventing this mode of fishing
inside the Arran Islands, as it would cut out the greater
part of the trawling ground, and leave too limited an ex-
tent of ground for any extensive operations to be carried
on by this mode of fishing.

‘The only persons who appeared on the inquiry were
the applicants for the restriction, the Claddagh men, who
are now opposed to this mode of fishing, though in 1852
and 1853 they adopted it with but few exceptions. The
evidence being to a certain extent ex parte, the Board
decided that before any steps should be taken to prohibit
a most productive mode of fishing, such as trawling is,
the most unequivocal practical proofs should be afforded
of its decided injurious effects on the fishery of the bay,
and have therefore ordered a practical investigation of the
subject, which will take place as early as possible.

“ We are sorry to be obliged to mention that contentions
of a serious nature have arisen between the two classes of
fishermen in Galway Bay, and that one of the trawl boats
was set fire to, but whether by any person connected with

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 331

those who would wish to see trawling abolished, of course
we cannot say. His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant con-
sidered it right to offer a reward for the conviction of the
perpetrators ofthe outrage. We refer to Mr Brady’s report
on this subject.”

The inspector, Mr Brady, enters more fully into par-
ticulars, and we think his remarks as to the state of
matters at Galway worth recording :—

ON TRAWLING IN GALWAY BAY,

“A very great amount of excitement prevails amongst
the Claddagh people, in reference to this mode of fish-
ing, which they say is not only injurious, but has destroyed
the fisheries of the bay. Whatever be the cause, I be-
lieve, from the evidence I received, both in the Court-
house and in the Claddagh, that these people are in a
sad state of destitution. The Claddagh people, I am in-
formed, number at present over 3000 souls, depending
exclusively on fishing, and having no other mode of
livelihood ; and therefore I submit, that it is an import-
ant matter, not only for the peace of the country, but for
the benefit of the fisheries, that the Board should be in
possession of some facts concerning this mode of fishing,
which cannot possibly be ascertained at public meetings.
The disputes in reference to trawling in Galway Bay are
going on now since 1839, when it was then urged that
all trawling should be prohibited inside a line drawn
from Blackhead to Spiddle. And on the late investiga-
tions the Board will observe, on reference to the evidence,
a new feature presented itself, viz., that the greatest
quantity of unsizeable fish, and the brood of fish, is taken
between a line drawn from a place called Ballyrean,

‘

332 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

about five or six miles outside Blackhead, to Tully Castle
on the north, and the two points Blackhead and Spiddle,
or about five or six miles outside the line originally pro-
posed in 1839; and that the greatest injury was done by
the trawlers on this ground. It would appear as if a
belt of sand lay across the bay in this place, on which
the young fish rest. No evidence was produced, on the
part of the trawlers, to show whether this was the case or
not, as they did not appear in Court; because, as was
mentioned, that their presence might raise the passions
of the Claddagh people to such a pitch that they could
not be restrained, and that a breach of the peace would
ensue. ‘This was sworn to by declarations handed in by
the professional men employed on the part of the trawlers.
This fear I believe not to be exaggerated, notwithstand-
ing the evidence which had been produced to prove the
good conduct of the Claddagh people, and their general
observance of the laws. The consequence of this intimi-
dation is, that the Board have only a one-sided testimony
on which to judge. It is but justice, however, to state,
that although a great excitement prevailed, the Claddagh
people, who mustered in great numbers in the Court-
house, behaved orderly and peaceably ; and several magis-
trates came forward to give evidence as to their general
good conduct and observance of the laws. Amongst the
rest, the resident magistrate stated he had not known an
instance of impropriety amongst them. In 1839, so much
excitement prevailed on this subject, that it was judged
expedient by His Excellency the Lord-Lieutenant to have
a war-vessel to protect people employed in trawling on
this coast and that of the county Donegal; and soon
after the passing of the 5th and 6th Vict., cap. 106, in
1842, the Board, after inquiry, made a by-law prohibiting

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 333

trawling within a line from Barna Pier on the north, to
Gleninagh Castle on the south. The people became a
little tranquillised after this, though they still urged a
greater extension of the line; until 1852, when further
breaches of the law occurred, and such threats were held
out, to destroy all the trawlers in the bay, that it was
judged expedient again to have a war-vessel to protect
those who were pursuing their lawful avocations. At
that time the Board held further investigations into the
matter, to ascertain whether a greater restriction should
be put on trawling; and in 1854 the Board caused certain
by-laws to be made, prohibiting trawling, when shoals of
herrings had set in, and while boats were at such times
engaged in drift-net fishing; and prohibiting trawl boats
coming within three miles of herring boats. It appears
these by-laws have been a dead letter, as it is alleged
they could not be carried into effect, from the fact that
herring boats only fish at night; and it would be impos-
sible to ascertain whether trawl boats were within three
miles or not of herring boats. After the inquiry in 1852,
nearly all the Claddagh fishermen adopted trawling, but
practised it only for a short time (about a year, or a year
and a-half), and then abandoned it, although, I believe,
from the inquiries I made, they made money by it; but
the fact is, their small boats were not able to compete
with the large trawlers employed by private enterprise ;
and the people were full of prejudices and improvident,
and when their trawl nets were worn out, they had no
means of buying others.

“The Claddagh men are a very peculiar race of people,
living exclusively amongst themselves, depending solely
on fishing for their livelihood, and are full of prejudices.
Amongst the many, they will not allow any boat to go

334 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

out for herrings before the whole fleet is ready; and the
consequence is, that although there may be a shoal of
herrings in the bay, no crew, however enterprising, dare
venture out until it pleases the Lords of the Claddagh to
say the fleet is ready. In last August, when I was at
Galway, I heard that a boat’s crew, more daring than the
rest, had ventured out one night before the fleet, and
caught a good many herrings, and when the boat came
in, the people on shore attacked the boat, and destroyed
both it and the nets. This was authenticated by the
sworn testimony of one of the Claddagh men themselves
at the late investigation. It is only by a quiet, resolute
determination, and pointing out their error, that these
prejudices will be overcome, and this I have experienced
from the few interviews I have had with them; and J
believe, that if they were taken in hands determinedly,
and the man of enterprise amongst them protected and
supported, eventually their prejudices might be con-
quered, and the navy well supplied out of their ranks by
fine hardy seamen.”

We have no doubt, from careful observation, not only
at Galway but also in other quarters, that beam trawling
is injurious to the herring shoals, and may diminish, or
utterly destroy, the annual visits, as they are easily scared
away. For instance, so soon as a herring shoal spawns,
thither the various kinds of flat fish assemble, and the beam
trawls following, these tear up and annihilate the spawn
in large quantities, and the herrings may cease to return.

As it was found that there were considerable facilities
on the West Coast to enable the contraveners of the law
to dispose of the herrings or fry during close-time, a new
Act was passed on the Ist August 1861, the 24th and 25th
Victoria, c. 72, enacting—

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 335

“1st, That whoever has in his possession, or sells, or
offers to sell, herrings or herring fry, known to have
been taken on the said West Coast of Scotland dur-
ing close-time, shall be liable to a penalty of not less
than L5, and not exceeding L.20, for every offence, be-
sides the forfeiture of such herrings and herring fry,
and of any boat, box, or package in which they may be
found.

“9d, Any person defacing, altering, or in any way en-
deavouring to conceal the marks or numbers enacted by
law, on any boat, sail, herring net, or other implements,
shall be liable to a penalty of not less than L.2, and not
exceeding L.10.

“3d, The Commissioners of the British White Herring
Fishery may, by regulations to be made by them, suspend
the operations of this and the preceding Acts, within such
part of the Firth of Forth as is situate to the westward
of a straight line drawn across the Forth, from the west
pier of South Queensferry on the south side, through
Bimer Beacon, to the shcre on the north side, to such
extent and for such period as they shall judge fit, so as
to admit of the sprat fishing.”

Having thought it might be interesting to keep a journal
of the progress of the winter herring fishery on the Firth
of Forth, we took notes of the results of the fishing as far
as could be ascertained; and although not so perfect as
might be wished, the following may serve the purpose
proposed, to prove the peculiar nature of the winter fish-
ing of 1861-62 :—

Journal of the Winter Herring Fishery in the Forth, 1861-62.
1861.
Oct. 28, First boat went out to try for herrings, and came in from off
Granton with 700 herrings. Another from Inchkeith, with
only one or two herrings.

336 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

1861.
Oct. 29.

6.

ii

Three boats from off Granton, about 100 or 200 herrings
each. Examined twelve of these, viz. :—

Kengih, Brest agi, oe Empty
l herring, 83 22 il
(Wad 94 Ste A
as, 9 ee 1
iy eye 10 ae ta hy
ee Sa i? et 1 iy
s Rane 9 } Young sand-eels instomach 1
as 8s 23 Remains of smallfish do. 1
1 5 9 23 Do. 1 do.
1 My 93 a Do. 1 do.
iW Ste 10 24 Do. 1 do.
fies 8 10 OE Ns Dah) 1 ido:
te hes 103 BL aide.) a eae:

. Four boats went out for herrings, each got 600 or thereby ; and

other boats tried for sprats near Granton, and above the
Queensferry, and got few or none.

. Seven boats tried for herrings off Burntisland ; only got a few ;

other boats tried for sprats, but got none.
Stormy,—no boats out.

. Some boats tried for herrings east of Inchkeith, and got six to

eight hundred very superior herrings, much finer than those
from off Granton. Examined six of these :—

pace eatin metab tl nok Panty

1 herring, 9 2h 1 piety |

Pets OF ORT Roe Tan whe a) aes ip

ie gee 94 23 13 Ly ree "0
( In stomach, young

| a 9 23 1 1 fish, 2 to 23 in.
{ in length.

1 ag 93 23 14 bens Do. young fish.

ees A 102 22 IZ i dena Do. do.

4, A boat tried for sprats above Queensferry, and got about six

barrels.

One boat tried above Queensferry, and got about six baskets
sprats. Some boats tried for herrings off Granton, and got
from 600 to 1500 herrings.

About thirty boats at the herrings off Granton, got from 600 to
3800 large herrings. Examined six of these, viz. :—

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 337

1861.

meee Vani” * "aoa
lherring, 9 2 sh 1 a
eet 83 2 ore 1 small! Small debris
| oe 93 21 I small. ... of fish in
lege 103 1 i 1 small | these five.
ie 94 24 me 1 small }
Me os 10 2 lsmall ...

Noy. 9. Boats tried for sprats near Burntisland and above Queensferry,
and only got a few dozen each. Several boats tried herrings
off Granton, and got 500 to 600 herrings each. Examined
six of these, viz. :—

Length. Breadth.

Inches. Inches, Milt. Roe.
1 herring, 9 13 1 a
1 9 2 ae 1
ae 105 QL 1 is
ene 10 24 ae 1
(Tail 10 2 1 me
Le 9 iZ sae 1 small.

11. Very stormy from the east yesterday. Boats went out about
five this morning. Only a few herrings in each boat.

12. Several herring boats out, and brought from 500 to 3000 her-
rings fished in the middle of the Forth. One boat first tried
off Burntisland, and got 150 ; then the middle of the Forth,
50; and afterwards near St David’s, and got 2000 herrings.

14 to 23. Stormy weather. Thirty boats with sprats—average, 20
barrels per boat. Boats, when weather permitted, fished
herrings off Burntisland and above Queensferry ; from 700 to
3000 herrings. Sprats, in about thirty boats, 20 crans on
an average ; no small herrings, but a few Matje herrings
among them.

24. Sunday.

25. Stormy. No boats out.

26 to 30. Boats got 800 to 1500 herrings. About thirty sprat
boats out ; they got 20 to 30 barrels each ; sold at from 8s. to
12s. per barrel ; but weather stormy for several days, and
no boats out for herrings,

Dec. 6,7. Stormy. Herring boats got 2000 to 3000 herrings off Buck-
haven and off Burntisland. Sprats abundant, and selling at
2s. 6d. to 3s. per barrel ; herring at 5s. per hundred.

8, 9. Herring boats got 2000 to 3000 herrings. Six or seven boats
of sprats, about 30 barrels each. Thirty-five herring boats off
Burntisland got from 24}to 84 crans each; sold at 22s. per cran.

N

338 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

1861.

Dec. 10. Sixty boats full of sprats, mixed with full-sized herrings. About

ten boats got herrings near Inchkeith, large, full herrings,—
about 2000 each.

11, 12. Stormy, no herring boats out ; but boats with full cargoes of

sprats—some large, and also young, herrings among them.

13, 14. Boats with herrings, five or six crans off Newhaven ; off

North Berwick, 200 to 400 herrings; Burntisland, and above
Inchcolm, 2000 to 5000 herrings each.

16, 17, and 18. Opened a cop—in stomach two full-sized flounders,

two lobsters about 12 inches—a coptiNG, four small crabs,
four prawns, &c., in stomach. Herrings from Inchkeith,
each boat eight crans. Sprats left ground above the Ferry,—
fishermen say caused by spring-tides ; they are now below
Ferry.

19. Opened a cod 3 feet in length,—two full-sized herrings, three

young gurnards about 8 inches, and some debris, no sprats,
in stomach,

20,21. Boats from east of Inchkeith, 2000 to 4000 herrings ; a few

boats with sprats and small herrings.

23, Monday. Herring-boats fished west of Granton, and got 2000

1862.

to 4000 herrings each.

Jan. 7. Sprats scarce west of Queensferry. Some boats got ten to twelve

barrels east of Queensferry. Full-sized herrings fished near
Inchkeith (east of it), about four or five crans up to the end
of last month. These three or four days the boats fishing
from the Queensferry down to Leith Pier (seen from shore),
and got from four to six crans. Examined eight herrings

fished to-day :—

ines i ay Milt: Roe.

12 21 0 1

3 21 0 1

93 2 0 1

10 Qh 1 0

10 7 1 0

9h 2 0 1

gi 2 0 1

9 Z 0 1

Examined 1 nappock, about 18 inches—in stomach, whole

and broken shells and some debris ; also a copLinG about
15 inches—two small crabs and small pieces of fishes.

9. Boats at sprats below Ferry ; several taken possession of by

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 339

1862.
revenue cutter. Boats at herrings, various success ; from two

to twenty crans, full size. Best quality and largest quantities
near Inchkeith.
Jan. 31. Latter part of month, boats fished near Island of May. Seventy
boats fishing one day off Anstruther ; highest, fifteen crans.
Feb. 4. Westerly and changeable ; no appearance of spawning yet.

7. Some boats returned, left the fishing ; few herrings seen or
got. Strong wind, N.E. Herrings fished at various places
on the East Coast—six to eight crans each boat.

Mar. 1. Herrings fished off Anstruther. Examined six of these, viz. :—

Length. Breadth. Length. Breadth.

Inches. Inches. Inches, _ Inches.
103 23 milt. ll 24 roe.
113 Qt roe. 113 23 milt.
ll 2} roe. 11 2} empty.

Success various until the

6. Some boats fished about twenty crans near May Island, and a
good appearance. One boat had thirty-five crans at Dunbar,
but quality of herrings indifferent ; many spawning, lank
and sickly. Many boats came into Anstruther with fifteen
to twenty crans ; fishing near the May Island, one boat,
forty-five crans ; sold at 45s. per eran. About 300 boats
fishing ; but soon after the herrings left, and the fishing
ceased.

1861.—The fishery off the coast and near Dunbar was
very abundant this year, and yielded several thousand
barrels, the great proportion of which was sold fresh, of
which no account was obtainable. About the 30th of
August the shoals began to deposit their spawn a short
distance from the harbour, and on the 3d of September
the fishermen found that a very large body of herrings re-
mained fixed to the ground in the progress of spawning, the
ground being of a rocky or stony nature. When the fisher-
men ascertained this, several of the boats proceeded to
the spawning ground, and, letting their nets down to the
bottom, took up large quantities of herrings, some of the
boats having each about sixty crans or barrels of herrings.

When discharging their cargoes, the boats and nets were
Y 2

340 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

covered with the ripened and expelled spawn. The fisher-
men most unwarrantably continued to fish the herrings
in this state even during the day, thus disturbing the fish
on their spawning ground, on Sunday the Ist of Sep-
tember and two following days,—the Sunday having all
the appearance of a week day, with the landing, selling,
and carting the herrimgs. This disturbance of the spawn-
ing shoal was most injudicious, and the more to be con-
demned when it is considered that the fishermen had just
about finished a most successful season. The ground on
which the herrings deposited their spawn is about half a
mile from the shore, and about three quarters of a mile in
length, and a quarter of a mile in breadth. It was easily
known from the sea having a whitish opaque appearance,
and from the strong fishy or oily odour. Immediately
after spawning the herring shoal started off, and for the
space of three weeks the ground was swarming with
whitings, cod, and other fish, which were evidently at-
tracted by the spawn; and these afforded an abundant
fishing to the Dunbar fishermen for the two or three
weeks after the depositing of the spawn. In about three
weeks the spawn had been evolved, and the young fry left
when the fishing of the whiting, cod, &c. ceased."

! On Saturday, the 31st of August, the Fifeshire fishermen, in their boats,
were moored at the mouth of Dunbar harbour, and refused to allow the
Newhaven fishermen or their boats to get out of the harbour, when some
of the Newhaven men cut the ropes of the Fife boats, and a number of the
men of the latter came on shore to punish the aggressors. Then a
challenge took place, when the respective crews of each party proceeded to
the Green, and there was a regular pitched battle, which lasted for some
time; but ultimately the Fife men were defeated, and retreated to their
boats and left the harbour, leaving the Newhaven men masters of the field,
or rather harbour, with free power of egress. We give this short notice
of the battle, as it is remarkable on account of the unusual occurrence of
such a contest among our fishermen.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 341

DIVING FOR SPAWN.

1862.—As it was considered of material importance by
the Honourable the Commissioners of the Fishery Board
to ascertain the circumstances connected with the deposi-
tation of the spawn of the herring, the cutter ‘“ Princess
Royal” was appointed to proceed to the localities where
the herrings were supposed to deposit their spawn, in the
spring or beginning of the year of 1862, and men accus-
tomed to use the diving apparatus were employed to go
down to the bottom of the sea to examine the grounds,
and to bring up such spawn as might be discovered by
them; and the following is a short account given by them
of their operations :—

The divers went down to the bottom of the Fluke
Hole, off St Monance, where the depth of water was from
13 to 15 fathoms, and found that the bottom consisted of
coarse sand and small stones, but they found no spawn.

Various other places were examined, namely, near
Gullan Ness, in about 8 to 9 fathoms, where the ground
was sand and shells; between Mickery Island and Charles-
ton, from 7 to 10 fathoms; and again, on the 29th, at the
Fluke Hole; but still no spawn was found.

The divers having been told that spent herrings had
been lately taken near the May, they went down in the
beginning of March to the west of the May, in 15 fathoms
of water, where they found spawn firmly attached to the
stones, and they sent up a considerable number of such
stones, of from 3 to 16 lb. weight, with the spawn fixed
upon them; the bottom there was found to be stones, shells,
sand, and shingle.

On the east of the May, a considerable quantity was
found in 20 fathoms water, adhering to coarse shelly sand ;

342 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

the deposit was about three-fourths of an inch thick, and
was attached to a cake of the rough shells and sand.

The divers thereafter proceeded to search under water for
spawn between Craig Leith and North Berwickin9 fathoms
water, the ground being rough shelly sand, and also again
in the Fluke Hole, but found no appearance of spawn.

Various other places were ‘tried at various times, and
no spawn found, excepting in the places already men-
tioned; and three weeks after the spawn was first dis-
covered to have been deposited, the ground where the
spawn had been found was examined, and it was then
without any spawn.

The divers say that they several times saw, when look-
ing up, or around them, fishes of the size of herrings
moving about, but they could not see them so distinctly
as to be able to assert that they were herrings.

An intelligent member of the Royal Physical Society
having obtained some of the spawn which had been dredged
up, put it into glass-bottles, or cans, with salt water, and
exhibited them alive at a meeting of said Society ; nothing
in the form or appearance of these minute fishes could
warrant the assertion that they were undoubtedly young
herrings, although there is every probability that they
were. Several other gentlemen tried to breed the young
which had escaped alive from the spawn, but none lived
in the aquarium longer than four weeks. Attempts were
also made to breed them by placing the spawn in boxes
or cans in the sea, but the attempt failed, in consequence
of these having been accidentally removed or destroyed.

In addition to the statement of the fishing of the Forth,
we subjoin an instructive statement of the fishing at Wick,
in 1862, prepared by the editor of the ‘ Northern Ensign.”

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 343

Journal giwing the Commencement, Continuance, and Termination of the Herring-
Fishing (Season 1862) at the Wick Destrict.

n 5 of Pies fe oD qe S
Date [34/5 2 Ss |28/S3 | Quality. Weather. Wind. REMARES.
25|2°/63 (Sar se
July 3} 20) 2 40} 0 40 |Excellent| Mild WNW
awe 4]! 30) 1 30} 0 70 Do. Wet NW
cer core (60|- oa 30| 0} 100) Do. |Damp and mild |N
- 8} 50 3 25) 0 125 Do. Mild NW
9} 70} 0 10} 0 135| Good | Gentle breeze SSE
« 10) 70) 13]; 105/,0] 240) Do. Breezy NNE
11] 120} 2 60 3| 300 Do. Cold and breezy | NW
a c First cargo despatched, 423 bar-
+ 12] 150} 7 | 1,050} 13} 1,350 Do. Fine SSE rels, to Dunbar. ’
15] 180} 1 180} 13] 1,530! Mixed | Mild iS) 1 boatwrecked entering the harbour.
«7 26)| 170\" 2 170} 14} 1,700| Good | Clear—strong NNW
meet Ly) LOO} 150} 13 1,850 Do. Wet [tides}| NW
-- 18] 100} 1 100] 2 | 1,950 Do. Thick and wet |E
19.| 50} 1 50} 2 | 2,000 Do. Rough S
-- 22) 300) 3 900} 3 | 2,900 Do. Mild W
+. 23] 600) 2 | 1,200) 4 | 4,100|Excellent| Do. W
24] 700) 1 700} 42] 4,800 Do. Changeable Ss .
1 = 1 2 reater part returned without
- 25] 250| 3] 125) 43] 4,925) Do Very rough SW shooting their nets.
meen 20| Z00le 700} 5 | 5,625 Do. Mild WwW
. 29] 950/ 0] 150] 5|5,775| Do. |Mildandwet [NW Very strong tee: qeenscereble
30} 900 2} 450] 6 | 6,225 Do. Do. NW
(Sudden S.E. gale. Damage to
«. 81] 950} 1 950| 63| 7,175] Do. Rough SSE V. boats entering the harbour.
Aug. 1] 250} 2] 500} 7 | 7,675) Do. Mild—heavy sea | E
«-» 2/1000} 2 | 2,000] 83] 9,675] Mixed | Mild and wet E
500 boats went out, but most re-
ea 5) L50)) 2a 150] 9 | 9,825} Good | Rough SSE turned. 4 damaged entering
the harbour.
Sie Gy |eera)| eas 210} 9 |10,035) Spent Do. ES
(Two boats driven ashore leaving
.-» 7{1100) 6 | 6,600} 15 /16,635| 2 spent | Mild E the river—surf. Keiss aver-
a aged 23 crans.
Keiss averaged 30 crans. Wick
8|1100} 4 | 4,400] 19 |21,035| 2 spent | Thick and rough | NE } boats could not reach the fish-
ing-ground.
: One boat run down off Noss Head.
9} 700] 6 | 4,200} 23 [25,235 Do. Do. N All boats out, but 400 returned.
12|1120| 3 | 3,360| 26 [28,595 Gooa | Breezy E * ae ae ahurineanee Roe
. 13/1120) 8 | 8,960} 34 [37,555 |Excellent Thick, wet, & mild| E
¢ Great loss of nets through the
14 |1120) 4 | 4,480] 88 |42,035 Do. Do. NE weight of fish. Supposed loss,
£4000.
-» 15/1100} 11 |12,210) 48 [54,245 Do. Do. N
+. 16/1000} 8 | 8,000] 56 |62,245| 3 spent Do. NW ’
19/1000! 0| 50] 56 |62,295 |Excellent| Strong gale sw errr ee a without
- 20] 800) 3 400 | 563|62,695 Do. Gentle breeze— | SW Tides very dead.
21| 800) = 200] 57 |62,895 Do. Do. [cold| SSW Do.
22} 900) 4 450 | 57 |63,345 Do. Calm and clear |Variable Do. t
23| 800, | 200] 573163545] Do. | Very wetdcalm| Do. goer Sieg ie i age
26 |1120) 2 | 2,240) 59 |65,785| 2 spent | Mild Do.
27 |1120} 5 | 5,600] 64 |71,385| 3 spent | Breezy ESE 7: 5
28 |1120| 1 | 1,120] 65 |72,505| Good | Clear and mild |Variable aie eae ae
29|1100| 3] 800] 6523|73,305| Do. Do. Do. Do. do.
«-. 30/1000} 3) 500] 66 |73,805) Do. Do. E
Sept. 2/1050] 4] 525] 663|74,330|Excellent| Breezy E pas boat run ag on |
oats co not get out from sur
3| 20/ 3) 10/ 663/74,340) Do. Do. E at harbour. Smooth outside.

20) 3 10| 663\74,350 Do. Do. Do. do.

sree E
we, 511"100) 1 100| 663|74,450| Do. Mild NE
.- 6| 600} 2) 150] 67 |74,600) Do. Do. NE
Gest -9)) 220| 4 880| 68 |75,480| spent { Do. SW
.-- 10} 300} 10 | 3,000] 71 |78,480| Good Do. SW
... 11} 400} 20 | 8,000| 77 |86.480| 3 spent | Do. SW
J2| 400] 10 | 4,000} 81 |90,480| 3 spent | Breezy SW |
§400 boats out, but had to return—)

cose 3) 4 12} 81 |90,492| Good |Windandrain |SW {. weather very threatening.
..- 16} 200} #2] 160} 81 |90,652 Do. Mild Variable

seeks e200}. 0 12| 81 |90,664 Do. Do. Do. | __

344 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

We especially call attention to those parts of the table
which represent the dangers the fishermen are subjected
to, in consequence of the want of a good harbour at Wick.

The following tables represent the quantity cured
and fished during the year 1862, at the various fishing
stations.

HERRINGS FISHED OR CURED IN 1862 :—
At the Stations, North-east Coast.

Stations. 1860. 1861. 1862.
Wick = us : ; : : . | 105,482] 89,728] 90,644
Lybster, . : : ; : ; 23,940| 16,828} 17,150
Prindeats: VEY es) = he be, 5,982| 6,720| 6,162
Helmsdale, 2 : ; ; : 18,513} 26,670} 26,500
Brora, . : : ; ; 1,660 1,620 1,809
Cromarty, . ©. . ‘sj. | 12,6361 18060). MiLgse
Burghead, P : ; ; ; 6,000 7,920 9,090
Hopeman, A ; : : Z 7,140} 11,614 9,686
Findhorn, ‘ : : : ; 980 1,080} . 294
Lossiemouth, . : ; ; ; 13,920; 10,175} 10,881
Portgordon, . i : : i 3,990 2,783 4,664
Portsoy, . ; ; ; : , 1,092 1,974 3,290
CEES oi Rael Gl aan ae 3,069| 2,380] 4,200
Portnockie, . : x ; ; 2,394 2,691 3,542
Findochty, . , ; ; : 2,184 2,660 4,480
Portessie, F , ; : : 1,735 1,881 2,180
Buckie, . ‘ ; 7,462 5,320 8,600
Banff and Whitehill : 5 : 2,122 2,792| 4,753
Macduff, 3 : , , 3,712 4,200 7,884
Gardenstown, : : ‘ 4 . 4,608 6,642} 12,908
Pennan, . : ; ; i gil 630 819 1,215
Rosehearty, . : ; 4 : 3,102 4,620 7,828
Palle AIR eA eo) ceeer'e 1,080] 1,720] 3,768
Fraserburgh, . ; : : : 17,570} 16,581] 42,944
Peterhead, ; : 19,050| 32,600} 52,461
Boddaut ea 2,800] 5,890| 5,445

Total, . . . | 272,903} 285,868] 353,610

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 340

Barrels.

Brought over, 353,610

South-cast District.
Barrels Cured.

Stonehaven Section, . ; ; 35,217
Anstruther District, . : : . 44,079
Leith District, . : ; : 5,372
Eyemouth District, . : : 51,729
Total, 136,397

Caught and sold fresh at the following Districts on the East
Coast of Scotland, Fishing 1862 :—

Districts. Barrels.
Leith, 4,666
Eyemouth, . 22,888
Shetland Isles, 700
Orkney Isles, 755
Wick, 5,825
Lybster, 870
Helmsdale, . 2,110
Cromarty, 1,130
Findhorn, 3,280
Buckie, 1,130
Banff, . 620
Fraserburgh, 2,673
Peterhead, 3,960
Anstruther, : : 5,450

Total, 70,313
West Coast of Scotland.

Districts ae
Greenock, 562
Rothesay, 3,0724
Inveraray, : : | 79,705
Loch Carron and Sieve ‘ ; : 5,9004
Loch Broom, . : : 4,222
Stornoway, 78,480

Total West Gass of Seotlend: 171,942

Carry over, 732,262

In addition, it is computed that 14,256 barrels of herrings

346 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

were consumed fresh, without being salted, according to
the following returns collected by the officers so far as
practicable ; but it is not possible to get returns of herrings
‘consumed fresh” with the accuracy of returns of “cured
herrings.”

Barrels.

Brought over, 732,262

Districts. pep gree
Barrels, ~
Greenock, . : ; : 5,080
Rothesay, . ; : 5 : 366
Inveraray, . ; : : 2,440
Loch Carron and Sys, : E ; 3,670
Loch Broom, ; 3 : ‘ 690
Stornoway, . ; 2,010

Total West Goast OE Santina,

14,256

Total fishing for 1862—hbarrels, 746,518

To complete the tables, we now give the progress of
the fishing since 1848 (as to the fishing inf the preceding
years, see page 259); and as the year 1849 was very re-
markable for its productiveness, we give the following
particulars of that fishing :—

Barrels.

Fished on the Scottish Coast, : ‘ : 942,617
- English Coast, F : : 209,362
1,151,979

Of which were cured, . : 770,698

Of these branded, , : 213,268

» Exported, : ; 340,256
TSEO MAIR hc del oc) RRR eee eats
HSI = : : : : P : : 594,031
[hbo OM ee ed a @ eee
1853, . ; ; : 5 : : p 710,344
1854, . , 5 ; ; ; : ; 636,532
1sh6t. YL eee
1866, 5 |" Lape A Pe Se ree cUniR

1857502 2) Oh EPR ag tO oe op DA aR

-

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 347

Barrels.

ESS Hcg ogy Ue OE oss we i. icacdy 430000
[sso ee eee as! BOUGOU
160) . Venpat Maen ey oa Sake LN MR: gaz NGO
USGI. bao su eee eaten) Sukie act 2° stat’ 4 .4680,000
TGUO) pee RR ge ee dG ote

As it has been asserted that the fishermen are only
employed part of the year, and that merely in the herring
fishery, we think it but doing them justice to give a short
account of the usual occupation of the Newhaven and
neighbouring fishermen.

In January the fishermen are actively employed:
some at the oyster dredge; some proceed to fish the
winter herrings in the Firth; some to fish sprats; and
others to the cod, ling, haddock, and skate fishings.

These may be considered the occupations of the fisher-
men for the different months down to May. In this
month, and in June, the majority of the enterprising
fishermen proceed in their open boats to prosecute the
herring-fishery at various places in the north of Scotland,
sometimes as far as Stornoway in the Lewis Islands,
many to Wick, Banff, Fraserburgh, &., and continue
fishing there about two months; and sometimes catch to
the extent of 850 barrels per boat. _

After returning from the northern fishing, some of them
proceed to Dunbar, Eyemouth, and other places on the
coast of Berwickshire and Northumberland, in pursuit of
herrings there, where they are frequently very successful.
In September the oyster fishery in the Forth commences,
which continues till May, and which affords to many a
never-failing but generally scanty means of support during
that period. As many as eighty boats may be seen in a

348 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

morning at the cheerful but laborious dredge; they com-
mence about four or five, and finish about ten or eleven
o’clock in the morning.

Others set their “ partan” (crab) nets on rocky ground,
or their skate-nets to the east of Inchkeith, or proceed to
the fishing-banks off the mouth of the Forth to fish
haddocks, cod, ling, halibut, and skate, until the time
of the herring-fishery again comes round. Many of
them unite to the occupation of fishermen the equally
hazardous but more responsible profession of pilot ; and
it is not uncommon for them to be eight days absent,
beating about in their open boats in the ocean, in quest
of ships. Their mode of life is certainly of a very ex-
citing nature; at one time they are—in the months -
of June, July, and August—in their open boats in the
ocean, 200 miles from home; at another they are em-
ployed, in the cold, stormy, and dreary nights of winter, in
the same occupation in the Firth of Forth; or they pro-
ceed amidst darkness and hurricanes to the oyster-fishing
or piloting. In the sunny mornings of May, they skim
along to the “hekle” or “hettle” rocky grounds, the
favourite haunts of the crab and lobster, to set their trap-
like “‘corv” or box, or nets; or to the deep water of the
Firth, to sink their skate nets. Compared to the lands-
man on his downy pillow, the sailor’s is considered a life
of hardships ; but he has his forecastle for shelter and his
hammock for a bed, while the fisherman spends his nights
in the middle of winter on the ocean, in an open boat,
happy to snatch a nap on the boards if the spray or
the waves will allow him,—and this not only for one
night, but for many nights in succession. We have often
seen the fishermen landing from their boats with their
faces incrusted white with the salt of the ocean, and yet

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 349

we hardly know an instance of a fisherman or fisherman’s
son preferring another profession to a seafaring life, so
much have example and habit wedded them to their
dangerous and exciting avocation.

SUGGESTIONS AS TO THE IMPROVEMENT AND
EXTENSION OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

1. All British fishing vessels and boats ought to be
exempted from paying any charge whatever in the shape
of harbour dues, lights, petty customs, or tithes,—the
vested rights as to petty customs or tithes to be protected
by commutation, and paid for by assessments on the towns
or communities where such exactions are made.

2. It is of the utmost importance for the proper pre-
servation of the herring, that it be carefully protected
from sun, wind, and rain, after being shaken out of the
nets into open boats; this is not at present sufliciently
attended to. We would suggest that each boat proceeding
to the herring fishery should be provided with a move-
able deck or covering, to be applied after the nets are
taken in; this ought either to be enforced by law, or the
practice encouraged by a small bounty or premium.

3. Considerable shoals of herring often come upon
coasts and into bays, particularly in the North and West
Highlands, where there may be few or no fishing-boats,
while, at the same time, many fishing-boats may be lying
unemployed for want of herrings at other localities.
It would be highly beneficial that immediate intelligence
of the arrival of such shoals be communicated to the
fishery-officers at the adjacent stations, who, in such cases,
might immediately send information to such localities,
and the other stations, by notices in the newspapers, &c.

350 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISUERY.

4. Encouragement should be given to the fish-curer to
cure the herrings in oaken barrels; the Dutch do not
generally cure in any other. We are of opinion that oak
is not only, from its strength and retentive quality, the
best suited for this purpose, but that there is also a pre-
servative quality in this wood, and that it moreover im-
parts a pleasant flavour to the herring.

5. Every means should be adopted to improve the
manufacture of salt. The salt manufactured in this
country is generally of very inferior quality; and the
same common process of boiling or evaporation has been
followed for centuries. Simple evaporation does not leave
the pure preservative salt or muriate of soda.

Our common salt is composed of—

Muriate of Soda, or Pure Salt.

Sulphate of Magnesia, or Epsom Salt.

Muriate of Magnesia.

Muriate of Lime.

Sulphate of Lime.
The sulphates and muriates of magnesia and lime are
injurious to the process of curing.

The muriate of magnesia is partly detached from the
common salt in a liquid state, and forms a great portion
of the liquid collected at salt works called bittern, from
which magnesia is made; but it is evident that a great
part must remain with the crystals under the common
process of manufacture. The sulphate of magnesia, or
Epsom salt, is also contained in the bittern, but part re-
mains with the crystals. These, as well as the muriate
and sulphate of lime, besides giving a disagreeable taste
to the common salt of this country, interfere with, or to
a certain extent prevent, the antiseptic qualities of the
pure salt.

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 301

Various plans have been suggested to get rid of these
deleterious substances, but unfortunately no process has
been generally adopted in this country for this purpose.
The Dutch make their salt of great purity, by melting
down the common rock-salt in pure sea-water brought
from the sea ata considerable distance from the shore.
They make the different kinds, suitable for different
purposes, with great care; the secret of making which
was purchased by them from the city of Cologne.* In
the present advanced state of the science of chemistry, it
certainly would be no difficult matter to find out some
simple and cheap process for purifying an article so
materially connected with the health and prosperity of
the inhabitants of this country. We believe that many
of the fishcurers now use Spanish and other salt, of greater
purity than our common salt, with advantage.

We have had specimens brought over of the different
kinds of salt manufactured in Holland, and found that
there were several sizes of crystals, forming cubes, the
finest of an inch square, and downwards, according to
the strength required. We believe the superiority of
the Dutch cured herrings, butter, &c., is much owing to
the purity of the salt.

6. We have in a previous part of this work endeavoured
to explain the cause of the diminution of the quantity
cured of red or smoked herrings, which in former years
was very large in some of the fishing towns—such as
Wick, Eyemouth, Dunbar, Anstruther, &c. Now, it is
very well known that, in the curing process of red
herrings, the assortment-of the kinds, the size of the

* See Prize Essay on the ‘ Dairy Husbandry of Holland,” Quarterly
Journal of Agriculture, No. 28, and Hendrick’s History of the Island of
Arran,

352 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

barrel, and the number in the barrel, are not in any way
subjected to the inspection of the fishery officer, there
being no law as yet applicable to the curing of red-herrings ;
the trade in most places has therefore very much decreased.

We have often seen the red-herrings, sold by the prin-
cipal curers, examined, and found the barrels filled with
a mixed variety of inferior fish—the barrels too small,
and the herrings improperly packed; so that orders to
purchase from foreign countries have much diminished,
and now the curers at the principal port, Yarmouth, have
to ship the greater part to the Mediterranean for the
chance of sale, and often lose considerably by such ship-
ments. We consider that if the red-herring cure were
placed by the Fishery Board under proper legislation, the
quantity required for consumption abroad would be largely
increased ; one inferior cargo sent by an inferior curer to
a foreign port will tend to destroy the trade.

7. The boundary line, beyond which foreign fishing
vessels should fish, ought to be laid down on a chart,
published by authority of Government. Continual dis-
putes occur at the fishing stations where foreign vessels
resort to fish; and it would be protecting the foreign and
British fishermen were the line distinctly marked. We
may refer to the “ Report of the Commissioners for the
British Fisheries for the year 1851,” to show the difficulties
that arise on such points. In this report we find it
stated, “that upon the Kast Coast the disputes between our
fishermen and the French grew to be so serious and fre-
quent, that it became ‘necessary to apply for more force ;”
and the Lords of Admiralty sent an additional war
steamer to assist those ships already acting for the same
purpose. And in the same report we are told that “a
question of boundary was raised by the French Commo-

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 353

dore in regard to the Fern Islands, the interpreting the
boundary line to be three miles from the mainland, which
would have allowed the French to fish close to the Fern
Islands, while Captain Strange, of H.M.S. Archer, held
the boundary to be three miles outside of low water-mark
of the Fern Islands. Ultimately the case was remitted to
the Queen’s Advocate, who determined that the boundary
was three miles outside of the Fern Islands.” The said
report farther states —‘“ The Tartarus war steamer, being
able to come near the shore, was very successful in de-
tecting and putting a stop to infringements of the Con-
vention ;”.and “the masters of several of the French
vessels were brought before the magistrates and fined.”
Now fining looks very plausible, but we suppose the fine
would not exceed L.5, while no doubt L.50 or L.100
value of herrings had been fished within the limit or
boundary. ‘They order this matter better in France ;”
for if any of the English oyster-fishermen are found
dredging within the boundary ou the French coast, we
are informed that they are detained for a considerable
time, sometimes until after the fishery. We own, rather
than run the risk, from such dangerous proximity, of dis--
putes with a friendly power, that it would be better to
abandon the oyster-fishery limits on the French coast,
and arrange that the boundary for fishing on the British
coasts should be, as formerly, at three leagues, the actual
legal boundary beyond which all strangers can be com-
pelled to keep when so occupied, and we give a strong
reason for this in our next observation; but we must
point out the great necessity of some strict arrangement,
or permanent supervision, by the continued presence of
ships of war or naval row-boats, as on the coast of Nor-

way fishery, because, when large fishing vessels take up
Z

354 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

the fishing ground where there are herring shoals, the
small fishing boats belonging to this country are fairly
driven off by the greater size of the fishing ships and the
heavier nets, against which the fishermen have no re-
medy unless there is constant permanent strong protec-
tion on the spot, under a naval officer, assisted by the
fishery officer. We have been informed, that at a certain
and important locality, where the shoals usually appear,
there have been watchmen from the larger ships sent on
shore and placed on the headlands adjacent, to give notice
by signals, so that they may have time to leave the in-
vaded boundary line before the approaching Government

steamer comes near. This alone proves the necessity of

the fishermen having LOCAL AND CONTINUOUS PROTECTION ;
but such protection is necessary in some places where
there is no fishery officer, to act as a controlling in-
fluence among the fishermen generally. For instance,
some time since, we read the following paragraph, as ap-
plicable to Killybegs in Ireland :—‘ The want of law is
‘more evident than ever; everything injurious to the
“ fishery is practised, such as shooting nets by day, vessels
‘ sailing through the nets, breaking nets, and cutting away
‘nets. SURELY SUCH A SOURCE OF GREAT WEALTH SHOULD
‘‘ HAVE SOME PROTECTION.”

8. Those vessels which, after gutting the herrings on
board, throw the refuse into the sea, ought not to be per-
mitted to fish where there are herring shoals; and this
law ought to be enforced by the Dutch Government
(whose fishing vessels cure on board), which might order
that the portions taken out of the herring at gutting be
barrelled up for use, for the purpose of making oil, or
for manure, or for both purposes. The herring is very
capricious, and we have before stated instances where the

——

CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY. 355

shoals have been driven away, such as from the Swedish
coast, where about the same quantity was fished as on our
coasts, and where they were scared away by continuous
fishing night and day, and (what was still more perni-
cious) by allowing the refuse of the herrings, boiled at
places on the coast for the purpose of obtaining the oil,
to reach and taint the sea,—and the shoals never returned.

10. When the importance of encouraging the fisher-
men in this important occupation is considered, surprise
may be expressed that the British Government has done
so little towards providing suitable harbours for the
fishermen—to enable them to proceed out and in and
lie in safety at all times. In a very able pamphlet,
written by Mr Mackie of the ‘‘ Northern Ensign,” Wick,
we are told “that the reason why the loss of life
on such a dangerous coast (Caithness) is now so
comparatively small, is because the fishermen will
not venture to sea when there is the least appearance
of a breeze, knowing too well what they must meet if
overtaken by a gale, and are obliged to run for land.”
This circumstance has every year a serious effect on the
fishing. This is not “ making two blades of grass grow
where only one grew before.” Mr Mackie goes on to say,
“In one gale (off Wick) upwards of fifty boats, lying at
anchor in the bay, were overtaken by a sudden gale, and
foundered. On another occasion thirty-seven Wick fisher-
men were drowned in an hour; and since 1845 about
one hundred and fifty fishermen have been drowned, and
about four hundred boats wrecked, in that neighbourhood.”
We may contrast the neglect of harbour accommodation
for our fishermen and mercantile marine on the Scottish
coast, with the millions of pounds spent on Kingston and

Holyhead harbours. We have to remark, that a truly pa-
Z 2

356 CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE HERRING-FISHERY.

triotic body, the British Fishery Society, has endeavoured
to supply, partially, the defects at Wick—in consequence
of the backwardness of the Government—and has applied
for an act to authorise the enlarging and improving
Wick or Pulteney Town harbour, but has met with
much unmerited opposition, which might have been
avoided had the Government acted upon the unanimous
opinion of those gentlemen best acquainted with the im-
portance of erecting such a harbour there.

INDEX.

Aberdeen, fishery established at, in 1836, 236.
Aberdeenshire Coast, visits of herring, 63.
Acts of Parliament erroneous, 3.
King Charles II., 1661, 171.
—— William and Mary, 1690 and 1693, 174.
— William I., 1698, 182.
Queen Anne, 1704, 188.
George I., 1727, 188.
George II., 1750, 204.
for extension of fisheries, 208.
George III., bounty on cured herrings, 222.
Do appoints Fishery Board in 1808, 226.
Do. 1815, 228. ;
for Irish Fisheries, 229.
George LV., 1819-1820, 230.
Do. 1821, abolishes tonnage bounty, 232.
Do. cap. lxiv., 1824, abolishes bounties, 23:
——— William IV., cap. lxiv., 1830, 235. ;
15 Victoria, cap. xxvi., 1851, as to cure, 265.
13th August 1860, 327.
14 and 15 Victoria, cap. xxvi., 1851, as to nets, 329.
- 1st August 1861, 24 and 25 Victoria, cap. Ixxii., as to herring fry, 334.
Agassiz as to food of herring, 53.
Alca alva, 87. 4
arctica, 87.
Alice shad, 41.
America, herring visits various, 81.
American Transactions, 81.
Anchovy described, 41.
Anchoring nets, 93.
Anderson’s History of Commerce, 130, 155.
Anderson, Thomas, Glasgow, condemns trawl-nets, 290.
Angus herring fishery, 66.
Annapolis Basin, herrings abundant, 82.

ILI

308 INDEX.

Appearance of whales, &c., 28.

Ardglass, considerable herring station, 72.
Argyle Coast, visits of herring, 56.

John, Duke of, anecdote, 193.
Arklow, change of season for herrings, 72.
boats, 299.

Arnoldus de Lubeck’s Chronicles, 135.
Arran, visits of herring, 61.

Artificial flies, 38.

Asia, various herring visits, 80.

Astecus (roe-aat), 48.

Avatska, Bay of, shoals of herrings here, 80.
Ayrshire Coast, visits of herring, 62.

Ballinakill, herring visits, 70.

Balena musculus, 35.

mysticetus, 34, 87.

rostrata, 35.

Baltic, various visits, 78.

Banffshire Coast, herring visits, 63.

Bantry, herring visits, 72.

Bay, trawling prohibited, 320.
Bathurst Inlet, herrings caught in, 81.

Battle at Dunbar by fishermen, 340.

Barne Pier, 335.

Barrels of oak best, 350.

Barry, Commissioner, 296.

Report as to Devonshire fisheries, 277.
Beam-trawling, Ireland, 274, 329.
occasioning breach of the peace, 330.
Beechy’s Voyages, 81.

Behring’s Straits, herrings in July and September, 81
mode of fishing, 110.

Belfast Lough, shoals sometimes, 72.

mode of fishing, 110.

trawling, 300.

Bellenden’s Boece’s Albion, 142.

Bergen herring fishing in 1857, 301.

herring visits, 75.

Berwick, herring visits, 67.

Beukelsen, celebrated as the inventor of curing, 164.
Biggar, Walter, Pamphlet in favour of Board, 295.
Billing’s Northern Regions, 80.

Bjornebjorg, herrings in spring, 78.

Black Sea herring-fishery, 80,

Blanket herring fishing, 100.

Bloch as to migration, 88.

INDEX. 359
Blom’s Travels, 75.
Blotters, 121.
Blowit, states herrings early a royal dish, 186.
Board of Trade, Queries of, 303.
Boats, ancient, found, 129.
must be marked, 328.
Book of Meaux, 136.
Bornholm, herring-fishery here, 78.
Bosc on food of herring, 52.
Bothnia, Gulf of, small herrings fished here, 79.
mode of fishing, 109.
Boundary line for fishing, 352.
Bounties allowed, 190.
in Scotland, 210.
on cured herrings, 214.
on herring-fishery, 230.
—— on tonnage, 218.
Bounty on herring reduced, 211.
Brady’s, Commissioner, Report, 331.
Brand, opinions in favour of, 298,
Brandersund, 301.
Bremen complains of tax for fishing, 156.
British Fishery Society, 219, 356.
Wick Harbour, 1824, 232.
purchase land, 220.
Brittany, sardine fishery of, 124, 324.
Broadhaven Bay, herring visits, 70.
Buchan Ness, herring visits, 65.
Buoys, 92.
to be marked, 328
Burghe Tollys, 152.

Caithness, visits of herring, 56.

Cape Wrath, visits of herring, 63.

Carlingford Lough, herrings diminishing, 72.

Carolina herring fisheries, 81.

Carrickfergus, herring shoals visit, regularly, 72

Caspian Sea, extensive herring fishery, 80.

Cause of failure of red-herring trade, 122.

Cedric the Saxon, 131.

Chamber of Commerce as to duties of fish in France, 322.
Report, 327.

Charles V. of the Netherlands, treaty wilh Es V., 146.
Charlestown, 341.

Chart for boundary line recommended, 352.
Christiansund, summer herring fishery, 75.
CuronoLogicaL History, Book III. chap. i. page 129.

360 INDEX.

Circular nets, 38.

Claddagh fishermen, 71.

destroy herring boat, 334.

Cleghorn, Mr, of Wick, his remarks, 38.
Cleghorn’s letter on diminution of herring, 292.
Cloquet on food of herring, 52.

Close time for fishing herrings, 327.

Clupea, 40.

Clupeide described, 41.

Clyde, visits of herring, 61.

Cobden, R., letter from, as to French tariff, 325.
Cockburn, Joseph, scheme for retrieving fisheries, 199.
Cod-fishery, French, 324.

Cod, the, devours herring, 36.

Collins, on salt and fishery, 172.

Cologne salt, 351.

Colony, fishing, at Lewis, 154.

Colymbus Glyde, 87.

Comines, Philip De, Memoirs, 141.

Commerce occasioned by fisheries, 20.
Commercial ambassadors, advantage of, 326.
Commission of inquiry as to brand, 314.

to inquire as to fishes, 1630, 158.
Commissioners as to French tariff, 326.

for manufactures, &c., appointed 1726, 225.
may fix limits for sprat fishing, 334.
Price and St John’s report, 314.
Common salt deleterious, 350,

Commons, House of, Committee as to herring fishery, 224.

Company formed to promote fisheries, 204.
Connal Abbey, charter, 141.
Considerations upon herring-fishery, 200.
Convention, infringements of, 353.
Cormorant feeds on herring, 37.

Cornish fishermen, 69.

Cornwall Coast, visits of herring, 69.
Costello, herring visits, 70.

Craigleith, 342.

Crangon vulgaris, 87.

Cromarty, visits of herring, 64,

Croyland, ancient Chapter of, in 1305, 138.
Cruive for taking herring, 38.

Cruives, 95.

Curtne, Moves or, 91, and Book II. chap. ii. page 111.
Scottish mode, 111.

Barrels—Heads—Hoops—Dunting— Blowing — Branding — Salt,

Talal

Ee

INDEX. 361

Curing, Dutch mode—
Gutting, assorting, packing, 1165.
Salt, blowing, marking, 116.
Oil, inspection, barrels, 117.
Hoops, marks, and brands, 118.

Curragh fishing, 100.

Customhouse charges, heavy, 219.

Customs duties, prohibitory, 218.

Cuvier on food of herring, 52.

quotation from, 2.

History of Fishes, 82.

Cyclopteris viperus, 88.

Daily take at Wick, 318.

David I., charter to Holyrood, 132.

Denmark herrings, small, fished, 76.
Description of herring, 42.

Destruction of life at fishing, 356.

Dieppe, herrings off, 79.

Dingle Bay, herring shoals, 71.

trawling prohibited, 319.

Discussion as to sprats and young herring, 265.
Disputes with French fishermen, 352.

Diver feeds on herring, 37.

Diving for spawn, 341.

Dodd, Dr James Silvis, Essay on herrings, 206.
Dog-fish destroys herring, 36.

Donegal, county of, 382.

Doomsday Book, 181.

Douglas, visits of herring, 63.

Down County, Coast of, shoals considerable, 73.
Dredging may destroy herring spawn, 38.
Drontheim, herring visits, 74.

Duich Loch, visits of herring, 59.

Dunbar, fishery abundant off, 1861, 339.

visits of herring, 67.

Dundrum Bay, trawling prohibited, 319.
Dunsmure, Mr, first secretary Fishery Board, 229.
Dutch busses, 102.

deep-sea fishing, 82.

fishery, 101.

___-— fishery laws, 103, 105.

fishing towns, 308.

fishing vessels ought to barrel up refuse, 304.
Great fishery, 101.

fishery attacked by the Dunkirkers, 201.
herring-fishery Reports, 1858, 307.

362- | INDEX.

Dutch jagers, 103.

new fishery laws, 105.

Pan fishery, 101.

— salt superior, 351.

—— signals, 103.

Small fishery, 101.

Duties, new French, on herring, &c., 826.
on fish, reduction in France, 322.
on fresh-water fish, 326.

Duty on cod-fish, 326.

Earl of Dundonald’s pamphlet on Herring-Fisheries, 215.
Edward the First’s edict as to herring fair, 1386.
Efforts to promote the fisheries described, 208.
Egede’s Greenland, 88.

Elixir of herring bones, 207.

Elsinore, small herrings fished off, 76
ENEMIES OF THE HERRING, chap. iv. page #4.
English Coast, herring visits, 68.

Entomostraca, food of herring, 51.

Epsom salts, 350.

Errors in scientific works, 6-13.

EHspeeveer, 301.

Experiment with lights, 27.

Eyemouth, herring visits, 67.

Fabricius on food, 51.

Fairhead, herring visits uncertain, 72.

Fall, Messrs, of Dunbar, large curers of red herrings, 212.
Robert, 216.

Falsterboe, small herrings fished, 76.

Farland Point, Coast of, herrings visit twice a year, 73.
Faroe, herrings seldom seen, 74.

Favourable appearances, 383.

Fecundated spawn, wonderful power of, 30.

Fern Islands, 355.

Festival, amusing account of, in 1444, 140.

Fife fishermen, battle with Newhaven fishermen, 340.
Fishermen improperly disturb spawning, 389.

seldom change their profession, 349.

— trust too much to appearances, 82.

——— dangers for want of harbours, 344.

experience of, 25.

life harder than seamen’s, 348.

Fishery Board attacked, 246.

Commissioners may be increased, 329.

Board established in Holland, 1857, 307.

INDEX. 363

Fishery Board, expense of maintaining, 247.
Board petition against duties, 323.
Convention Act with France, 18438, 242.
duties, report on, 322.

limits should be extended, 353.
officers, advantage of, 299.
ofticer’s duties, 318.

officers should notify arrivals of shoals, 349.
Fishing and curing, 91.

boats and vessels ought to be free from dues, 349.
ground, 93.

herrings, prohibitive limits, 327.

Firth of Forth, herring visits, 66.

Flekkefiord, Coast of, herrings left since 1886, 75.
Fluke Hole, 341.

Foggo, Robert, of Leith, takes Dutch busses, 145.
Foon, chap. vi. page 48.

Forbes, Duncan, President, anecdote, 193.

Foreign exportations, 17.

large fishing-vessels injure our fishermen, 354.
Foreigners came to buy only at Yarmouth, 137.

Form of nets, 26.

Fox Island, autumn herring-fishery, 82.

France, Channel fishery, 79.

earliest notice of herrings, 134.

Franklin’s Polar Seas, 81.

Fraserburgh, herring visits, 65, 314.

Fraser’s Domestic Fisheries, 206.

Frederick II. of Denmark, superstition of, 152.

Free British Fishery Society, 209.

French Academy on migration, 3.

duties on fish prohibitory, 323.

vessels, masters of, fined, 353.

Fresh-water fish in France, 324.

Frost’s Early History of Hull, 137.

Fundy, Bay of, herring-fishery, 81.

Gadus carbonarius, 88.

Galway Coast, herring visits, 70.
Bay, report as to fishing, 331.
Bay, trawling prohibited, 319.
Gammarus, food of herring, 51.
Gannet destructive of herring, 37.
Gilfillan the poet’s description of fishery, 237
Glendhu, herrings abundant at, 307.
Gleninagh Castle, 333.

Gold-diggings inferior to fisheries, 6.

364 INDEX.

Government, backwardness of, 356.

Gradual approach of herrings, 312.

Grant’s proposals for herring-fishery, 197.

Great Belt, summer and winter herring-fishery, 78.
Greatman’s Bay herring-fishery, 70.

Grimsby, complaints in 1291 of forestalling herrings, 137.
Ground selected for spawning, 29.

Gull feeds on herring, 37.

Gullan Ness, 3417

Hazits oF HERRING on Coasts, chap. iii., page 22.

Hanse Towns, off, fishery ceased, 79.

Harbour accommodation required, 355.

grants for, 233.

Harderwyk, 311.

Harold Graveld, 122.

Harris, herring visits, 61.

Hastings boats fishing herring, 69.

fishery, 98. S
Hauling-nets, 93.

Helmsdale, herring visits, 63.

Herring boat destroyed at Claddagh, 334.

Herring fishermen brought from Holland, 206.
Herring-fishery, suggestions as to improvement, 349.

Herring spawn kept alive, 342.

spawn in boxes at sea, 342.

specific characters, 40.

caught by Dutch busses in 1857, 309.

cured without salt, 128.

examined, 336-339.

exportation of, from Holland, 309.

off Norway, large size, 301.

on surface, 24.

scared away, 399.

Hettle, 348.

Highland Society’s Transactions, vol. il., 214.

Highlands, North, fishery in 1857, 153.

Holland, herring-fishery falling off, 308

inferior off this coast, 79.

legislation, 4.

Holyhead harbour, 256.

Hooks, baited and unbaited, take herrings, 48 7
Horegesund, Norway, 301. |
Horses, fishing herrings with, 100.

Horrebow’s History of Iceland, 74. 7
Howitt’s Visits, 149.

LT

; ee a

INDEX. 365

Iceland, Coasts of, herrings uncertain, 74.
Icy-sea herrings, 80.

Implements to be marked, 328.
Importance of herring-fishery, 1.
Important facts discovered, 28.
Improvement of salt recommended, 350.
Increase depends on demand, 15.

Injuries to herring shoals, 39.
Invergordon, visits of herring, 64.
Inverness, visits of herring, 56.

Irish began fishing in 1202, 141.

Board’s by-laws on trawling, 333.
Coast fishing, 98.

Coast, visits of herring, 70.
Commissioners prohibit trawling, 318.
Commissioners’ Report, 101.
Irvine, visits of herring, 62.

James V., treaty with the Netherlands, 1541, 145,
Journal of Wick fishing, 1862, 343.

of Winter fishery, 335.

kept in Dutch busses, 311.

Kamtschatka herring-fishery, 80.

Katwyk, 311.

Kenmare, herring visits, 71.

Kent Coast, shoals of herrings off, 69.

Keppel’s Persian Narrative, 80.

Kerry Coast, herring visits, 71.

Kiel, herrings inconsiderable, 78.

Killeries Coast fisheries, 70.

Killybegs, herring visits, 70.

want of protection at, 354.

King Charles I. encourages fishery, 156.

Charles I., message from, 159.

Charles II. promotes a Royal Fishery, 163.
———- Eric of Norway refused permission to fish, 137.
George ITI. recommends fishery, 1749, 194.
James VI. prohibits fishing by foreigners, 155.
Kingston harbour, 356,

Kinnaird Head, herring visits, 65.

Kiner, fishing off, 301.

Kippered herrings, 121.

Knox’s observations on fishing, 162.

Knox on food of herring, 235.

Kola, fishing station on White Sea, 73.

Kotzebue Sound, herrings fished by Esquimaux, 81.

366 INDEX.

Kovema, herrings caught with seine, 80.
Kronik van Holland, 134.

Lacepede on food, 50.

Laing’s “ Norway,” 1381.

Langebeck’s History, 183.

Larne, herring visits irregularly, 72.

Lefevre’s Report on Fishery-Board, 246.

recommends continuation of Board, 258.

Letter as to Galway fishermen, 278.

Leuwenhock on food, 50.

Lewis Islands, fishery at, increasing, 266.

Light and heat, influence, 31.

Lights used on American coast, 32.

Limits at Galway Bay altered, 275.

of fourteen miles for Scottish fishermen, 155.

List of eurers of red herrings in 1777, 212.

of Dutch busses fitted out in 1857, 310.

of Dutch busses fitted out in previous years, 316.

Loch, on trade and fisheries, 211.

Loch Broom, herring fishery large in 1858, 306.

Roag, visits of herring, 58.

Duich, visits of herring, 59.

Carron, visits of herring, 60.

Caroy, visits of herring, 60.

Slapan, visits of herring, 60.

Fyne and Loch Long, visits of herring, 61.

Lochinver, 307.

Lochs— Eribol, Inver, Kennard, Great Loch Broom, Little Loch Broom,
Ewe, Torridon, Urn, Moidart, Kintra, Linnhé, Craignish,—periodica
visits, 57.

Lock fishing, 301.

Lofoden, summer fishery, 75.

Loire, herrings limits south, 79.

Long Island, herring visits, 57.

Lords of the Admiralty, 352.

Loss of boats and nets, 343.

Lossiemouth, herring visits, 63.

Lough Foyle, herring visits twice a-year, 72.

—— §willy, herring visits twice a-year, 73.

Louverex Recueil, 135.

Lowestoft, fishery of, 69.

Liimfiord herring fishery ceased, 77.

Luminous appearance described, 240,

Mackenzie on food, 50.
Mackie on Wick harbour, 355.

INDEX. 367

Maclure’s View of Glasgow, 172.

M‘Gregor’s “ British America,” 82.

Mearns herring-fishery, 66.

Majority of Commissioners of Inquiry in favour of brand, 316.
Manx, Isle of, herring visits, 62.

Marks on herrings, superstition regarding, 152.
Marseilles, fish-market at, 324.

Mary, Queen Dowager, of Hungary, 145.

May Island, 341.

Measure for herrings, 273.

Mediterranean, French fishery in, 324.

Memorial to the Board of Trade, 322.
Meteorological Society of Holland, 311.

Mickery Island, 341.

MIGRATION, DESCRIFTION OF, chap. vili. page 84.
Miller, Hugh, on herring-fishery, 65.

Milt and roe, 29.

Minch, herring visits, 57.

Monnikendam, head quarters of pan fishery, 310.
Moon, influence of, 32.

Morayshire Coast, herring visits, 63.

Miller on food, 51.

Muriate of lime, 350.

of magnesia, 350.

of soda, pure salt, 350.

Narwal, 87.

Natura History, chap. v. page 40.
Naval Coast Guard at Norway fishery, 3802
Neill, Dr, as to herring, 37; as to food, 52.
Nets, 91.

Nets, illegal, 327.

Neucrantz on food, 50.

Newhaven fishermen, battle with Fife fishermen, 340.
occupation during the year, 347.
praised by Commissioner Barry, 297.
Night on the sea, 25.

Noel, De la Moriniere, 136.

Noordwyk, 311.

Noortkaper whale, herrings found in, 35.
Norfolk Coast, herring-fishery off, 68.
North Berwick, 342.

Northumberland, herring visits, 68.
Norway, Coasts of, herring visits, 74.
fishery in 1857, 300.

legislation, 302.

Norwegian fishery, 105.

368 5 INDEX.

Norwegian fishery, visit to, described, 106.
lock-fishing, 108.
Nova Scotia, fishery of fat herrings, 82.

Oak barrels, 350.

Observations on state of fisheries, 199.

Okotsk, shoals of herrings here, 80.

Olaf Tryggvesin’s “ Saga,” 1381.

Olaus Olavius, “ History of Iceland,” says herrings uncertain, 74.
Orkney, visits of herring, 55.

Oyster fishermen within French boundary, 353.

Palinurus vulgaris, 87.

Pamphlets on fisheries, 196

Pan fishery, Dutch, 310.

Paris fish-market, 324.

Penzance fishery, 69.

PERIODICAL VISITS, chap. vil. page 54.
Periodicity generally constant, 86,

Philip De Mazieres, 134.

Phoce, 87.

Pilchard described, 41.

Pinkerton, 129.

Pomerania, herrings in April and May, off, 78.
Pommerage, Hist. Abbey of St Catharine, 141.
Power of spawn fecundated, 30.

Princess Royal, H.M.S., 341.

Privy Council Meeting, 1663, 171.
Queries, 5.

Progress of fecundated spawn, 30.

oF FISHERIES, chap. ii. page 14.
Proposal for encouraging fishery, 198, 199.
Prussian mode of fishing, 108.

Quality at each locality constant, 85.

Quantities cured and exported, 16, 18, 212.
Quantity fished in 1862, 344.

in North-east Coast, 344.

in South-east District, 345.

and sold fresh, 345.

in West Coast, 345.

Quarrel between Scotland and Netherlands, 145.
Queen’s Advocate, 358.

|

Rep or SmoKeD Herrines, Curtne, Book II. chap. iii. page 120.
Red herrings mentioned in 1575, 148.
no legislation as to curing, 361.

INDEX. 369

Religious ceremony at Claddagh before fishing, 71.
Report as to tariff in France, 322.
Riga, small fishery here, 78.
Robin Hood’s Bay, herring visits, 68.
Roe of cod imported to France for sardine fishery, 124.
Rondeletius on food, 50.
Ross-shire Coast, herring visits, 63,
Roundstone, herring visits, 70.
Row boats required, 352.
Royal instructions to Sir William Alexander, 160.
Physical Society, 342.
Society’s Transactions, 235.
Rugen Island, herrings off, twice a-year, 78.
Rutland, Coast of, visits uncertain, 73.
Rymer’s Foedera, 162.

Sails to be marked, 328.

Salmon, herrings found in stomach of, 36.

migration of, 89.

Salmon’s chronology, 155.

Salt duties in Holland injurious, 308.

Salt-water fish ponds, value of, 31.

Sancta Ottonis, 134,

Sand-eels, 48.

Sandy Bay, 81.

Sardines, French modes of cure, 124, 126.

Scheveningen, 311.

Scientific divings for spawn, 341.

Scoresby’s remarks on food, 84, 50, 88.

Scotland produces large supplies of fish of all kinds, 323.

Scottish Act, James I., 1424, 141.

James III., 1471, 148.

James LV., 1488 and 1491, 143.

James V., 1540, 145.

James VI., 1573, 147.

James VI., 1579 and 1584, 149.

James VI., 1585, 152.

James VI., 1587, 154.

Scottish Exchequer enforces tax for fishing, 156.

fishing in 1429, 142.

herring busses for bounty, 1797, 222.

Nation maintains its right for exclusive fishing, 157.

Parliament in 1661 passes Act for fishing, 163.
— Parliamentary Records, 182.

Seafield, herring visits, 71.

Seal tribe prey on herring, 35.

Seining, 94, 99.

370 INDEX.

Seizure of Dutch ships by the Scotch in 1410, 140.
Selling herring fry, penalty for, 335.

Shad, migration of, 89.

Shannon, river, herring visits, 71.

Sheephaven Bay, herring visits, 70.

Sheet herring-fishing, 100.

Shetland, visits of herring, 54.

Ship of war necessary on Irish Coast, 332.
Shoal spawning, 339.

Shoals arriving on coast, 349.

Shower of herrings, 57.

Sibbald’s History of Fife, on herring fishery, 67.
Sinclair, Sir John, 225.

Size of herring at each locality constant, 85.
Sizes of herrings on various coasts, 46.
Skudesnes, fishing off, 300.

Skye, herring visits, 60.

Smith’s Report on Fisheries, 161.

Smoked herrings, improperly mixed, 352.
Solinus’ Ancient Account, 129.

Solway Firth, herring visits, 62.

Sonini’s Buffon on food, 51.

Spanish salt much used, 351.

Spawn depositing, 29.

Spawning-ground swarms with other fishes, 340.
Specimens of herrings required by Board of Trade, 305.
Spottiswood’s History of Scotland, 155.

Sprat described, 40, 89.

fishing in the Forth, limits may be fixed, 335.
Sprats cured in Norway, 127.

smoked, 127.

Squalus borealis, 88.

Stadtland, herring visits, 75.

Staithes, herring visits, 68.

Statistics of herring-fishery since 1848, 546.

of herrings and freights, 240.

cured, 258.

materials, 20.

people employed, 19.

Statute of herrings, 1857, 139.

Stettin importations, 16, 272.

St Ives, herring visits, 69.

St Monance, 341.

Stornoway, herring visits, 58.

Suggestions for improving herring fishery, 349.
Sullivan’s, Captain, Report, 316.

Sulphate of magnesia, 350.

INDEX.

Sulphate of lime, 350.

Summer and winter herrings constant, 83.

Sun injurious to herrings in boat, 349.

Sunday, fishing on, 340.

Sussex, herring visits, 69.

Sutherland Coast, visits of herring, 56.

Sweden, herring fishery ceased, 76.

Swift, Dean, his letter on the herring-fishery, 190.
Swilly, Lough, trawling prohibited, 319.
Swynden’s History of Great Yarmouth, 131.

Tables of progress since 1848, 346.

Tail, power of, 31.

Tariff, French, new, 326.

Tartarus war steamer, 353.

Tartary, Russian, Okotsk herring-fishery, 80.

Tax exacted for fishing herring from Dutch busses, 162.
from foreigners fishing herrings, 156.

Tay River, herrings inconsiderable, 66.

Teiling, coast of, large shoals, but not fished, 73.
Texel, off, herrings uncertain, 79.

Throwing herring refuse into sea injurious, 354,
Thurso, visits of herring, 56.

Time of selling fish in the “ Mercat,” 145.
Tobermory fishery, 220.

Tonnage bounty, 1755, 208

Torridon, Loch, great fishing in, 241,

Tour on Seottishl Coast by Commissioner Barry, 206,
Trade in red herrings declining, 122.

Traill on herring fishery, 66.

Transactions of Highland Society, 173.

Trawl-boat burned in Galway Bay by fishermen, 330.
fishing can be prohibited, 329.

Treaty between Louis XI. and Charles of Burgundy, 141.

Trichecus rosmarus, 87.

Troon, visits of herring, 62.

Tuckey’s Maritime Geography, 80.
Tunny, 324.

Turner’s Sacred History as to Food, 50.
Twaite shad described, 41.

Use of beam-trawls opposed in Ireland, 331.
Utrecht, Meteorological Society at, 311.

Valenciennes, Cuvier as to dog-fish, 36.
herrings taking by seine, 71.
Vernon’s plans and proposals, 195.

372 INDEX.

Virginia, herring-fisheries off coast, 81.
Visiting Highland lochs, 27.
Von Wright on food of herring, 51.

Wade, Thomas, report as to trawling, 280.
Walker’s scheme for promoting fisheries, 196.
War-steamers required, 352,

Water Telescope, 33,

Waterford harbour, trawling prohibited, 320.
Wellman’s letter to George Traill, M.P., 266.
West Mane, Iceland, visits of herring irregular, 74.
Wexford, Coast of, trawling prohibited, 320.
Whales pursuing herrings, 65.

Whitebait described, 41.

White Sea, herrings abundant, 73.

Whiting destructive of herring, 36.

Wick fishing, 1862, 342.

former state of fishery at, 320.

harbour injured by storm in 1827, 236.
herring visits, 63.

Statistics, 313.

Wicklow Coast, herring season changed on, 72.
Wilson, James, on destructive habits of gannet, 37.
the Naturalist, description of fishery off Wick, 241.
Wind injurious to herrings in boat, 349.

Winter and summer herrings constant, 83.
Wismar, fishery here, 78.

Wollenhove, 311.

Wolsey, Cardinal, presents red herrings, 149.

Yairs, 94.

Yairs’ account of Scotch trade in Netherlands, 137, 145.
Yarmouth, fishery of, 68, 95.

herring fair at, 136.

petition against fishery duties, 323.

Yarrell’s Clupea Leachit, 88.

Fishes, 89.

Yearly occupation of fishermen, 347.

Yorkshire Coast, herring visits, 68.

Zuyder Zee, inferior herrings in November, 79, 310.

PRINTED BY NEILL AND COMPANY, EDINBURGH,

MAY 26, 1964,

IY

harbour, addition to, by British Fishing Society, 245, 302.

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