NORWEGIAN LOBSTER-FISHERY AND ITS HISTORY. 247 



degree as to make an entire stoppage of the fisheries for a period of 

 time necessary. He believed that the proposed law, in obedience to 

 which lobsters should only be caught at certain seasons of the year, 

 would not fully answer the purpose, especially as no fishing was going 

 on during the proposed time of prohibition in those districts from which 

 there were the loudest complaints of the decrease of the lobsters. 

 He thought, on the other hand, that a law prescribing that only lob- 

 sters of a given minimum size should be exported and sold would keep 

 the fisheries in an even condition. Regarding the size of the lobsters that 

 were to be offered for sale, sold, and exported, he thought, that even if 

 it could not be definitely settled at what age and what size a lobster was 

 capable of spawning, it could to some extent be ascertained from an 

 analogical comparison with the river-crawfish. This is supposed to be 

 sexually fully developed in its third year, when it is 4 inches long, but 

 it may attain an age of twenty years and a length of 6 inches. He 

 therefore supposed that the lobster becomes capable of spawning when 

 it is three years old and has reached a length of about 8 inches, while lob- 

 sters measuring less are seldom found to have any roe. In order, there- 

 fore, that the lobster before "being caught may not only reach the size 

 when it may be considered fully grown, but might also be supposed to 

 have contributed something toward the propagation of the species, a 

 minimum size of a little more than 8 inches should be agreed upon for 

 lobsters which might be caught and exported. Possibly 8 inches might 

 be sufficient, as the English generally do not buy any from the fishermen 

 as " full men " which do not have this size. 



In consequence of this report, the ministry petitioned His Majesty to 

 recommend to the next Storthing the passage of a law forbidding tbe 

 offer for sale and the sale of lobsters that did not measure 8 inches in 

 length, inclusive of the head and tail. 



The following royal proposition for a law limiting lobster-fishing was 

 thereupon published November 5, 1838: 



"We Carl Johan, &c., make known, &c: 



" § 1. That it shall be forbidden in this kingdom to offer for sale or 

 sell lobsters which do not have a minimum length of 8 inches, inclusive 

 of the head and tail. For every lobster offered for sale or sold which 

 shall not have this length, a fine of 24 cents shall be paid, half of which 

 shall go to the police or custom-house officer, or any other person denounc- 

 ing the offender, and the other half to the poor. All cases of this kind 

 are to be brought before the police courts. 



" § 2. Lobsters which do not have the above-mentioned length shall not 

 be exported." 



The Storthing committee which had to consider this matter hesitated 

 to recommend to the Storthing the passage of this law, basing their ob- 

 jections on several reports from the lobster-districts and on Professor 

 Rathke's report. Their chief objection, however, was that the fisher- 

 men would consider such a law as limiting their liberty, and, not being 



