NOEWEGIAN LOBSTER-FISHERY AND ITS HISTORY. 245 



might suffer from limiting - the fishing-season would be fully compensated 

 for this by the greater number of lobsters that would be taken during 

 the season when fishing was permitted; and the fishermen should, at any 

 rate, during summer devote their attention more to working their little 

 farms and to the herring-fisheries. The government found that the whole 

 matter was not yet sufficiently clear to say with certainty whether such a 

 prohibition of lobster-fishing during the season when the lobster spawns 

 and sheds its shell would prove generally useful. The districts where lob- 

 ster-fishing was carried on were therefore requested to have those fisheries 

 thoroughly examined for several years by competent men, and then again 

 send in reports as to whether such a prohibition would be useful. It was 

 likewise requested that an opinion should be given regarding a proposi- 

 tion made by some people in the district of Nedernees and Kaaby gdelagen, 

 to divide the coast into small districts, where lobster-fishing should be 

 alternately protected, so that if a district had enjoyed the privilege of 

 fishing for three years, fishing should there be forbidden during the 

 three following years. The reports coming in in answer to this request 

 contained a very extensive prohibitory law, recommended by the above- 

 mentioned district, suggesting that fishing should be prohibited from 

 March 1 till October 1, and advising that no lobsters measuring less than 8 

 inches should be caught ; the length of time when fishing was to be prohib- 

 ited should be three years rh each district. Another district only wanted 

 to have fishing prohibited from July 1 to November 1, but was not in favor 

 of alternating the time between the districts. The Stavanger district 

 reported that as fishing was going on there only in April, May, and 

 June, no law would be required, and none would be desirable, especially 

 if it were to forbid fishing during the month of June, when the weather 

 was favorable and the fishermen had most time for it. The lobster did 

 not spawn on that coast till August and September. It was also thought 

 that the number of lobsters had not diminished, but that they now stayed 

 deeper in the water, finding enough food in the roe left by the herrings; 

 alternating protection was not thought advisable. The report from 

 the South Bergen district was essentially the same; and the Romsdal 

 report said that lobsters were only caught from the end of May till the 

 end of July. As there were, moreover, many different opinions regard- 

 ing the time when the lobster spawns and sheds its shell, the govern- 

 ment resolved to get the opinion of scientists on this point, and requested 

 Professor Eathke, Professor C. Boeck, and Professor Sars (at that time a 

 clergyman) to make a report on the nature of the lobster. Professor 

 Eathke in his report said that in his opinion the pairing-season of the 

 lobster was over before midsummer, and that the shedding of the shell 

 took place later, but he thought at the same time that the mass of lob- 

 sters that came near the coast during the spawning-season was so large 

 that the comparatively inconsiderable number that were caught would 

 scarcely be noticed ; he also thought that it would be so difficult to 

 enforce the law that it would be more injurious than useful. Professor 



