HERRING-FISHERIES ON THE COAST OF SWEDEN 133 



HERRING SPAWNING IN AUTUMN. 



Herring spawning in autumn are said to have been caught sometimes 

 near Tjorn, where, some years ago, small quantities of this same fish 

 were caught at the end of summer or in the beginning of autumn. G. 

 von Yklen thinks that this herring is related to the Dutch herring. 1 



THE LARGE HERRING, OR THE SO-CALLED "OLD " (GAMLA) HERRING. 



' (Clupea uahusica, Nilss.) 



It is frequently maintained, though not as often now as formerly, 

 both by old men who remember the old fisheries, and by young per- 

 sons, that herring of the same kind as the "old" herring, or at least 

 resembling it very much, are caught among the other herring, or are 

 observed in the open sea. I therefore feel it my duty to contribute my 

 share toward ascertaining the truth of this assertion, and to increase 

 our knowledge of this remarkable kind of herring by gathering all the 

 information on the subject scattered in books and reports, giving a re- 

 view of the different opinions regarding its appearance and disappear- 

 ance on the coast of Bohus-lan. 



The " old " herring (" gamla" sill) was, during the period it visited 

 tbe coast of Bohus-lan, generally called " samsill"' 3 in order to distin- 

 guish it from a smaller and less valuable kind. It was also called "stor- 

 sill," (great-herring,) 3 by which name people, as they do in Norway at 

 the present day, intended to distinguish a kind of herring excelling the 

 others in size, 4 and u vadsill," 5 (net-herring,) signifying a herring too 

 large to stick in the meshes of a net, as well as " hostsill," (autumn-her- 

 ring.) 6 



As there are no specimens of the "old" herring in any of our muse- 

 ums, it was necessary, in order to get some idea of its nature, to collate 

 accurately the different accounts regarding it obtained from the fishing 

 period when it was caught, or from the time near its close, when every- 

 thing was still fresh in the memory of men. 



If we examine the answers which were given to the committee of 1833 

 by the fishermen, we find that they unanimously declared that 7 the her- 

 ring which spawned in spring and which was peculiar to the coast was 



1 Goteborgs och Bokusliius Husballnings Siillskaps Qvartalsskrift, July, 1867, p. 51. — 

 Here, as well as in A. Boeck's report, (Goteb. ocb Bob. lans Husb. Siillsk. Qvartalskr. 

 Oktob., 1870, p. 28 ; Tidskrift for Fiskeri, V, p. 131,) and bis more extensive work, " Om 

 Silden og Sildefiskerierne," (p. 122,) tbe word Holliindska" (Dutcb) sbould be substi- 

 tuted instead of " Hallilndska." 



2 Wright, TV. von, Haudl. ror. Sillf., p. 171. — Efcstrom, Praktisk afbaudling, p. 11. 



3 Xihson, Handl. ror. Sillf., pp. 45, 46, 62, 70, 134 



4 Handl. ror. Sillf. p. 88 fr. 23, p. 90 fr. 33. 

 sNilsson, Handl. ror. Sillf., pp. 16, 62. 

 *Dubb, K. Vet. Akad:s Handl. f. 1817, p. 35. 



7 Only two salters, of wbom one, bowever, could only remember tbo great fishery 

 from bis cbildbood, were of a different opinion. Handl. ror. Sillf., p. 112 fr. 16, p. 127 

 fr. 17. 



