BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 163 



through the southern part of Lake Laxarvatn. The salmou ascend into 

 the Laxarvatu only far enough to reach the portion of the stream be- 

 tween Lake Sviuavatn and Lake Laxiirvatu. Xo salmon are ever said 

 to have been caught and no one had ever noticed thatsahnon spawned 

 ill the Laxarvatn, while they spawn in the stream between the tAvo lakes 

 and in the part of the Laxa Kiver above the falls, below which the princi- 

 I)al fisheries are at present carried on. The Laxarvatn has a rich vege- 

 tation, and is said also to contain a great many fish. I could not obtain 

 any further information, and there was no boat on this lake. In 1884 

 but few salmon had been caught ; the fish are rather small, and the 

 river cannot be called a particularly good salmon river. There are but 

 few spawning- places, and the quantity of the water is not very great; 

 especially below the falls there are large places where the water is very 

 shallow, and there are but few holes. It is exceedingly easy to control 

 the course of the fish and to catch them. On the other hand this river 

 is very rich in fresh-water algce, and therefore jirobably furnishes a good 

 deal of food for young salmon. I could not, however, discover any 

 young fish of the salmou kind. I caught several trout weighing about 

 3 i)ounds apiece, which were in excellent condition. 



On my way to Blonduos I again visited the river Bland^. At present 

 the salmon fisheries in this river are not very extensive, and but few 

 were caught in 1881. Salmon-trout and mountain-trout are caught with 

 nets and lines ; near Blonduos fish-pots might be used to advantage. 



As the weather became a little more favorable, on August 20 1 visited 

 the falls near the mouth of the river Bland^, where most fish are caught. 

 I met the owner of these fisheries, Svenn Christoffersen. He and his 

 father have carried on these fisheries since 1854. As in 1884, there have 

 been periods (as from 18G7 to 1869) when hardly any fish were caught. 



Xine years ago, however, there were good fisheries, and about two 

 hundred salmou were caught. During that same period a farmer living- 

 higher up the river also made good hauls, but at present he catches 

 scarcely any fish. Since 1875 the salmon fisheries have not amounted to 

 anything. Mr. Christotfersen could not tell me in what part of the Blanda 

 the salmon spawn, and no one seems to know anything about it. The 

 largest salmon are generally caught late in summer when the roe-bag is 

 far from being full. 



Owing to the decline of the fisheries, Mr. Ghristoffersen has greatly 

 limited the number of his apparatus. He thinks that the decrease of 

 the number of salmou is caused by the extensive digging for peat which 

 has been carried on of late years ; and that the refuse from the trading 

 station and the noise which frequently prevails there has scared the 

 salmon away. The severe winters from 1857 to 1805 have probably more 

 ^to do with it. In 1880 the river Laxa froze down to the bottom, and the 

 farmer living at Sodarnes found many dead fish in the river. I have also 

 made a note of the following statement : When Mr. Christoffersen was 



o 



