Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-11-30
HERRING FISHERIES.
An Industry Of Enormous Proper
ti0ns on Scotland's Coasts.
WHEN SALT WAS FIRST USED.
Wonderful Skill With Which the Fish Are
Prepared for Curing.
WAGES AND GOVERNMENT BOUNTIES

1ne Herrlng nsherieso OF Scotland form sucn
a stupendous interest, in capital invested,
in the number of men, women and boats
employed, and product for home consump.
tion and export to the continent secured.
that have been at pains to study the sub
Ject for intelligent presentation to Ameri'
can readers. The earliest date assigned
such fishing on the coasts of Britain il
about 1000. although herrings are men,
toned in the chronicles OF Evesham in 7o9
the Normans having probably then ac
quired the art Of sailing fish; and it is more
than probable that the use of salt wa:
known in the time of William the Con-
querer. as Duhamel quotes one of Will
iam's charters which states that in the
eleventh century vessels from Dieppe called
Grand Drogue urs" went to the North to
hsh for herrings in July and brought them
home in barrels salted.
The Dutch obtained privilege of Edward
/. to take herrings at Yarmouth, England;
and In the reign of the third Edward an act
was passed relative to supplying the British
fleet with herrings. During the middle
ages, and later still, British herring fishing,
which was always chiefly along the Scottish
coasts, was even encouraged through the
means of religious fast-days.
CURING WITH SALT.
The Scottish herring fisheries owed their
rise and development to the jealousy OF the
Dutch who largely irequented the east coast
| during the last century and who still annu.
ally send large feet of fishing "busses" to
the Shetland Islands. Their method of cur
ing with salt is said to have been originated
in 1886 by one William Beukles, native OF
| Flanders.
This humble fisherman may be said to
have laid the foundation of the Dutch her.
ring fisheries, which have always proved
one of their greatest sources of national
wealth. The saying is that Amsterdam
itself was "built on herring bones;" while
Beukles memory was so honored by the
Dutch that, in 1886, Charles ", of the
Netherlands, and his sister. the Queen OF
| Hungary, paid a memorable visit to his
tomb. The Scotch adopted the Dutch
method of curing herring, and these two peo-
| pie with the fishermen of our own New
England coast are principal competitors for
the continental cured herring trade of
Europe. The Board of British White Her
ring Fisheries was established by Parla-
ment in 1909, and is still in existence under
the present title of the Fishery Board for
| Scotland.
| PRACTICALLY FREE WATERS.
Many restrictive measures have been en-
acted during the present century, Such as
| "close" seasons, barring the use of circle
| trawl-nets, and nets of certain size of mesh,
but without result; and since 1868 the Scot
| tish herring fisheries have been practically
free from legislative control, even Sunday
fishing in religious Scotland being largely
practiced. The Scottish Board has in its
| service General Inspector. one assista mt. and
| 80 sub-inspectors or officials. All of these
are not only graduate fishermen but have
also been fsh-curers by occupation. For
the purpose of easy control and procuring
| statistics, the coast-lne of Scotland is divi-
| ded into 26 districts, the east coast having
| II and the west coast nine districts. Each
| district is provided with at least one officer,
and some with two.
A bounty system for the encouragement of
herring fishing prevailed with curious re-
suits from 1756 to 1880. Fishermen went to
sea to ''catch the bounty rather than the
| fish," 1t was paid on tonnage of vessels
instead of upon herrings landed. In 1853
this bounty was 30 shillings per ton of ton
| mage. Four barrels were taken. The ton
mage bounty paid was upward of e159.
THE GOVERNMENT BoUNTIEs.
This being discontinued, from 1909 to 1915
| the Government paid 2 shillings per barrel
of cured herrings and, altogether. shillings,
8 pence if exported. Government bounties
ceased in 1880. Government branding, after
examination, was, however, continued; and
in 1859 branding fee of 4 pence per barrel
was fixed, which still continues in force In
| a way the bounty system is still continued
as q concession to the fishermen, but in
| totally different form. The Government
paid its bounty both to the vessel owner on
tonnage and the fshcurer on cured behring's
| Under the bounty system as retained by the
trade, the bounty is now exclusively paid
by the curer to the fisherman before he puts
a net in the sea. This trade bounty"
reached its height in 1884, when, on the
Aberdeenshre coast, it was from e40 to ECO
per boat, the fisherman also receiving 81 per
'cran" of herrings landed,
This "trade-bounty," now greatly re-
duced. is paid to the crew, or rather, to the
owner of the boat, before fishing begins, and
forms a mild sort of lottery. Thus, if the
bargain is 81 per Gran and EGO bounty, and
the boat fish 100 Grams, the cost to the curer
is 80 shillings per Gran. If 200 Grams are
landed the price is reduced to 26 shill-
ings per Gran. Again, all her
rings over complement OF, say, 200 or 250
Grams will be delivered under the 81 rate,
and those delivered after o'clock at night
of tbs day they are taken, are still cheaper
to the curer.
AN ENORMOUS BUSINESS.
In the early part of the century Scottish
herrings were chiefly exported to Ireland,
and to the West Indies as food for slaves.
But since 1876, continental Europe, es-
pecially Germany and Russia, has been the
chief purchaser The total product for 1888
was at least 1, 100, 900 barrels, exclusive of
the herrings used fresh in fishing ports,
those "kippered," and those sent fresh to
Scottish and English markets, which amount
annually to 14o, 900 "crans;" and it should
be borne in mind that the Gran measure is
equal to 371 imperial gallons. 1t is still
the standard of measure, although seldom
used as utensil for measurement An idea
of the predominating importance of the her.
ring fisheries NAV be gained IRON the fact
that the total value Of the herring, white.
shell and salmon. fisheries OF Scotland in
1886 was e2, $50. .77S, of which herrings rep
resented 81, 400, ,9S1.
The boats in use at the middle of the pres
ent century were about "a feet of keel, un-
decked and carried "a hemps nets, 40 yards
long, yards deep, with 80 meshes after a
years use. The boats built within the past
five years are from 48 to So feet of keel.
Thev are decked and carry an average drift
OF 30 cotton nets, each 60 yards long and IL
yards deep. The total OF persons employed
in the fishing Industry is 81, ,SS1 souls.
WAGES OF THE WORKERS.
East coast summer herring fishing begins
ohouf no 1St of In1 I'd