§ SIR WILLIAM WEDDERBURNI beg to ask the Lord Advocate whether he is aware that the Scottish line fishermen have for some years suffered much loss and inconvenience from want of a cheap and plentiful supply of mussels for bait; and that in 1898, as compared with 1897, the supply of mussels from Scottish beds has declined by about 30 per cent.; and whether, looking to the cost, waste, and inconvenience involved in bringing mussels from the Continent, the Government will take such steps as will enable local mussel beds to be established, as 930 contemplated in Section 13 of the Sea Fisheries Regulation (Scotland) Act, 1895, to supply in each locality the bait without which this national industry cannot be carried on.
§ * THE LORD ADVOCATE. (Mr. A. G. MURRAY, Buteshire)I am informed by the Fishery Board that the supply is not the sole determining factor in accounting for the diminution referred to in the question. The demand for bait is at least an equally contributory cause, and that varies according to the success of the white fishing for which the bait is required, and according to the supply of fresh herrings which, as bait, is preferred to mussels, the latter seldom being used when the former can be obtained. With reference to the importation of foreign mussels, the quantity imported has been failing off for some time. Within the last three years there has been a decrease of over 40 per cent. The Board up to the present time have done all they can to enable local mussel beds to be established, but it must be borne in mind that few localities round the coast of Scotland lend themselves to the cultivation of mussels.