38 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



associate themselves with others numbering four members, and thus 

 furnish two fishermen in common. Every one of these must furnish the 

 salt aud the necessary fishing-implements. When the fisheries have 

 come to an end, all the fish which have been caught are sold in a lump, 

 and the proceeds are divided among all the persons who havetaken a 

 part in the fishing. Families which, though taking a part in the com- 

 mon fisheries, wish to fish in other places, are authorized to do so with 

 their own means ; but, if the places where they desire to fish are particu- 

 larly rich, the community has the right to take possession of them as 

 common property. 



On the northern coast of the White Sea, there is a large fishing-vil- 

 lage called Kauzomene, where, in the autumu, herring-fisheries are 

 carried on on a large scale near the mouth of the river. It is the cus- 

 tom in this village that the inhabitant of the village who first arrives at 

 the mouth of the river has the right to cast his nets first ; but after 

 having drawn them in, he must yield his place to the one who comes 

 second, and so on. The herring caught there spawn in May and disap- 

 pear entirely during the latter half of July. 



Toward the end of the autumn and the beginning of the winter, great 

 herring-fisheries are going on in the bay of Soroka, where the inhab- 

 itants of the coast are joined by considerable numbers of Kareles, who 

 come from their villages, far away from the bay. Here every person 

 fishes for himself, every family enjoying its own gains. The fishing here 

 is always very productive, and it is not a rare case to find 100,000 her- 

 ring in the net and 70,000 in the sweep-net. 



Implements for the her ring -fisheries. — The two wings of the net, when 

 spread out, have a total length of from 16 to 35 " sagenes," (112 to 

 245 feet;) their depth is from 2£ to 4 "sageues," (17£ to 28 feet;) the 

 meshes of the wings are from 1 to If of an inch square, and those of the 

 purse or bag § of an inch. The bag is 4 " sagenes" (28 feet) long, and 

 can contain 300 " pouds" (10,800 pounds) of fish. These nets are used 

 on the south coast of the White Sea, particularly in the bay of Soroka, 

 where usually 750 of them are employed at a time. The fisheries commence 

 in the middle of November and last till the end of February. Holes are 

 made in the ice in order to get the nets into the water, and they are 

 kept there by means of small sticks tied to the wings of the net by long 

 cords, and laid across the holes made in the ice. 



For the autumn herring-fisheries, nets are used whose wings are gen- 

 erally 8 "sagenes" (56 feet) long, and every fisherman has such a net 

 in his boat. The boats always go out two by two. A cord with a run- 

 ning-knot tied to the prows of the two boats prevents their separating. 

 Every boat is manned by three fishermen, one of whom rows while the 

 second guides the helm, and the third continually sounds the sea by 

 means of a long pole, to ascertain the presence of a school of herring. 

 The moment the fishing ought to commence, the cord uniting the two 

 boats is pulled out; and the fishermen in each rowing rapidly, they 



