NORWEGIAN LOBSTER-FISHERY AND ITS HISTORY. 251 



He had found, moreover, that the lobster was capable of propagating 

 before it had reached a length of 8 inches. He would therefore pro- 

 pose — 



" § 1. His Majesty may take measures for protecting the lobsters during 

 a continuous period of two to three months annually in every district of 

 the kingdom, at the request of the respective governors. 



"§ 2. The season of protection shall in every case embrace the whole 

 month of August. 



" § 3. The protection may extend both to males and females, or only to 

 the latter. 



" § 4. Whoever catches lobsters, or offers them for sale, during the 

 close season, in the district or districts where there is such a law, shall 

 pay a fine of 24 cents for every lobster which is caught or offered for 

 sale contrary to the law. 



" § 5. In the district or districts where i>i'otection extends only to the 

 female lobsters, a fine of 24 cents apiece shall be paid by every one 

 who, during the season of protection, allows female lobsters to be caught 

 and offered for sale, or in any way trades in such. 



"§ G. The same fine shall be imposed on lobster-dealers or their agents 

 if they receive and ship lobsters caught during the close season, in 

 accordance with the law in force in the district in which the lobster- 

 station is located. 



" § 7. The sums realized by these fines go half to the person who 

 denounces the transgressor, and the other half to the poor-fund of the 

 respective district. All such cases must be brought before the police 

 court." 



Professor Rasch has given his reasons for the provisions of the above 

 law as follows : 



"Although there are frequent complaints that general game and fish- 

 ing laws are not suited to all the districts of this large country, where 

 the different degrees of latitude and local circumstances produce great 

 differences with regard to the pairing-season, the periodical arrival, &c, 

 of the same races of animals, he had in most cases found fewer differ- 

 ences than one in general might be led to suppose. He proposed § 1 so 

 that every district should have the season of protection best suited to 

 its circumstances." 



Regarding § 2 he says : 



"As in his opinion it seemed sufficiently proved that the most prolific 

 hatching-season occurs in the month of August, even in the most north- 

 erly portions of the country where lobster-fishing is carried on, he 

 thought that, in all cases, this month should be included in the season 

 of protection." 



Regarding § 3, he thought that the strictness of the protection might 

 be relaxed a little in those districts where the summer fisheries, on 

 account of peculiar circumstances, cannot be entirely stopped without 

 immediate loss to the poor coast-population. He thought, moreover, 



