No. 4(l92l) FISHERIES OF NORWAY 7 



for the harmonious and profitable working of the department ; it 

 serves the extremely useful purpose of bringing the fishing and 

 trading interests into personal relations with the Director and his 

 experts ; the views and schemes of the department are elucidated 

 and threshed out in friendly discussion with hard-headed practical 

 men, often with extremely valuable results ; the grounrls of possible 

 misunderstandings are cleared away before they arise, and the 

 Director is able, at the end of the conference, to go to Government 

 with the full confidence of having the fishing trade at his back ; 

 he is able to say to the Minister that the trade approves his pro- 

 posals and estimates, and this means that the financial section of 

 the Government is virtually bound to find the money required 

 to finance the schemes proposed, unless it is prepared to brave 

 the resentment of one of the two most powerful industries in the 

 country. This Fishery Council then is a powerful instrument in 

 the satisfactory working of the department. It is at once a check on 

 extravagance and on unpractical proposals and a strength to the 

 department when its schemes are endorsed. The Council has no 

 executive power, but naturally it would be inexpedient to do other 

 than pay heed to its decisions, hence the proposals are prepared 

 with such care and detail that with advance knowledge of the 

 feeling of the industry there is seldom occasion for any serious 

 conflict of opinion. The estimates are submittetl in draft form 

 under main heads or sections usually numbering between 40 and 

 50; each head is explained in the accompanying text in as great 

 detail as is considered necessary. The budget draft submitted to 

 the Fishery Council is entitled " Proposals for the grant of supplies 

 for the arrangements concerning sea-fisheries in the Budget for 

 the year ending 30th June . . . , submitted by the Director of 

 Fisheries." 



Last year the Fishery Council devoted a full week to the 

 consideration of the estimates for the year 1921-22, each item being 

 considered and discussed seriatim- If a strong diiference of 

 opinion is manifestefl a vote is taken to decide the finding of the 

 meeting. The budget for the year in question is the largest ever 

 submitted to the nation ; the proposals were received cordially and 

 the Director, who met the views of the Council to the greatest 

 extent possible, had the satisfaction of getting all his schemes 

 through, the chief modification being that the Council increased 

 the estimate to the extent of Kr. 37.430 on a total submitted of 



