Morning journal and courier., 1890-11-29


What These Fisheries owe Their
Rise and Development To-Some
Early Dates Bearing ON This In.
dustry.
LERwIoK, Shetland, Oct. 6.
To the Editor of the JOURNAL AND COURIER:
The herring fisheries of Scotland form
such a stupendons interest, in capital in
vested, in the number of men, women and
boats employed, and product for home
consumption and export to the continent
secured, that have been at pains to study
American readers. The earliest date as
signed such fishing ON the coasts of Bri-
tain is about 1880, although herrings are
mentioned in the chronicles of Evesham
in 700, the Normans having probably then
acquired the art of sailing fish; and it is
more than probable that the use of salt
was known in the time of William the
Conquerer, as Duhamel quotes one of Will
1iam's charters which states that in the
eleventh century vessels from Dieppe
called ttGrand Drogueurs" went to the
north to fish for herrings in July and
brought them home in barrels salted. The
Dutch obtained privilege of Edward 1. to
take herrings at Yarmouth, England; and
in the reign of the third Edward an act
was passed relative to supplying the Brit
ish feet with herrings. During the mid
die 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.
The Scottish herring fisheries owed their
rise and development to the jealousy of
the Dutch, who largely frequented the
east coast during the last century, and
who still annually send large feet of
fishing 'busser" to the Shetland Islands.
Their method of curing with salt is said to
have been originated in 1886 by one Will
liam Beukles, native of Flanders. This
humble fisherman may be said to have
laid the foundation of the Dutch herring
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 Beukel's
memory was SO honored by the Dutch
that, in 1886, Charles ", of the Neither
lands, and his sister, the Queen of Hunga-
~, paid memorable visit to his tomb
The Scotch adopted the Dutch method of
curing herring, and these two people with
| the fishermen of our own New England
coast are principal competitors for the con-
| tinental cured herring trade of Europe
The board of British white herring fish
cries was established by parliament in
| 1909, and is still in existence under the
present title of the Fishery board for Scot
| land. Many restrictive measures have
been enacted 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 Scottish herring fisheries have
been practically free from Legislative con-
| troll, even Sunday fishing in religious Scot
land being largely practiced. The Scot
| tish board has in its service a general in
| spector, one assistant and thirty sub-in-
/ spectors or officials. All of these are not
only graduate fishermen, but have also
been fish-curers by occupation. For the
purpose of easy control and procuring
statistics, the coast-line of Scotland is di-
vided into twenty-six districts, the east
coast having seventeen and the west coast
|
with at least one officer, and some with
| two.
A bounty system for the encouragement
of herring fishing prevailed with curiou.
results from 1856 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 1859 this bounty was fifty shillings pei
ton of tonnage. Four barrels were taken
The tonnage bounty paid was upwards o.
one hundred and fifty-nine pounds. Thii
being discontinued, from 1909 to 1915 tn,
government paid two shillings per barre
Of cured herrings and, altogether, fou
shillings, eight-pence, if exported. Gov
ernment bounties ceasedin 1880. Govern
ment branding, after examination, was
however, continued; and, in 1859, brand
ing-fee of four-pence per barrel was fixed
which still continues in force. In a wa,
the bounty system is still continued as
concession to the fishermen, but in to
tally different form. The governmen
paid its bounty both to the vessel owne
on tonnage and the fsh-curer on curet
herrings. Under the bounty system as re
tanned by the trade, the bounty is now ex
clusively paid by the curer to the fisher
man before he puts net in the sea. Thi
sttrade- e-bounty" reached its height in 1884
when, on the Aberdeenshire coast, it wa
from forty to sixty pounds per boat, tn
fisherman also receiving one pound pc
, sscran" of herrings landed. This "trade
, bounty" now greatly reduced, is paid Il
/ the crew, or rather to the owner of tn
{ boat, before fishing begins, and forms
, mild sort of lottery. Thus, if the bar
: gain is one pound per cram and sixt
pounds bounty, and the boat fish one hun
dred Grams, the cost to the curer is thirty
J two shillings per Gran. If two hundre
, Grams are landed the price is reduced t
t twenty-six shillings per Gran. Again, a
j; herrings over a complement of, say, tw
/ hundred or two hundred and fifty Gran
: will be delivered under the oEe poun
(, rate and those delivered after nine o'cloc
8 at night of the day they are taken, NJ
|, still cheaper to the curer.
i In the early part of the century Scottis
{ herrings were chisfy exported to Irelan
8 and to the West Indias as food for slaves
d But since 1S48 continental Europe, esp,
cially Germany and Russia, has been th
chief purchaser. During 1907, the fir
year for which statistics are procurabl
It the product was upwards of ninety thol
Ia sand barrels; for the ten years ending
:. 1S47 there were 453, ,993 barrels cured; fl
% the twenty years closing with 1887 the
le were 1,110,958 barrels cured; while Il
II tremendous increase in the industry
d shown by the fact that in 1888 there we
If cured on the east coast So, ,64s barrels,