66 



REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



silk. Seines are but rarely employed for catching scaly fish, and this 

 is only doDe in the Upper-Koura. 



The person who rents a fishery is bound by his contract to fulfill the 

 following obligations : Fishing is prohibited from the 1st of June to the 

 1st of August. During this period, the gates of the bar must remain 

 open ; and it is forbidden to put any lines or nets there, in order that 

 the fish may be enabled to come up from the sea and reach their spawn- 

 ing-places. A fine is imposed for breaking this law, amounting to 1,000 

 " roubles" ($700 gold) the first time, 2,000 " roubles " ($1,400 gold) the 

 second time, and, if it occurs a third time, the contract is annulled. If 

 the lessee erects new bars of his own accord, he is punished by having 

 his building-material confiscated ; in case of a second offense, he pays a 

 fine of 2,000 " roubles" ($1,400 gold) the first time, and 4,000 " roubles" 

 ($2,800 gold) the second time. If he receives permission to construct 

 fishing-parks, bars of stakes, or nets, he must leave two-thirds of the 

 breadth of the river open if he has any competitors farther up the river; 

 and, if this is not the case, only one-sixth part. In navigable rivers, 

 bars of any kind must not occupy more than one-fourth of the breadth 

 of the river. Moreover, it is forbidden to obstruct rivers, branches of 

 rivers, mouths of rivers, and lakes with apparatus of this kind. 

 Finally, to allow the fish to ascend the rivers easily, it is not allowed to 

 cast a second seine before the first one has been taken on shore. 



The lessee procures the necessary salt for preserving fish and for pre- 

 paring caviar from the government salt-depots. In the district of 

 Bakou and in the region of the salt-lakes of Salyau, salt costs 12 

 " kopecks" (about 7 cents) a pound. The lessee cannot get more than 

 130,000 " pouds," (4,990,000 pounds;) but he has the right to buy salt 

 at Astrachan or other cities of the empire. 



According to the exact statistics of M. Dauilevsky, the trans-Cauca- 

 sian fisheries yielded during the period from 1848 to 1855 the following: 



