372 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



As regards tbe yield of the Slietlaud fisheries, we will here give an 

 extract from the report of the Norwegian vice-consul at Lerwick : " The 

 cod and ling fisheries near the Shetland Islands commence in the begin- 

 ning of April, and continue till the first week in June, when the herring 

 fisheries commence. The cod and ling fisheries were formerly. con- 

 tinued till the end of August; but at present, when the herring fisheries 

 are more profitable, they cease earlier in the season. These fisheries 

 are carried on with boats having a deck, and a keel measuring 35 to 45 

 feet. Completely equipped such a boat costs 9,000 to 10,<sOO crowns 

 [about $2,250 to $2,700]. The crew are generally the owners of the 

 vessels. They makeup between them from 1,800 to 2,700 c owns [$450 

 to $675], and borrow the rest from some fish-dealers to whom they sell 

 the fish at the market-price. When the fisheries are successful, the en- 

 tire debt is often paid off in the course of one cod and herring season, 

 which closes at the end of September." 



Fishing expeditions are annually made to Iceland and the Faroe 

 Islands from the Shetland Islands and from several English ports. 

 The fish which are caught on these expeditious are salted on board and 

 landed on the Shetland Islands, where they are made into klip-fish. 

 In 1882 the catch of cod and ling amounted to 3,006,59(3, of which num- 

 ber 121,337 hundredweights of kliiJ-fish were made, and 7,737 tons of 

 salt fish. 



To the above we add the following data : 



Of the entire quantity of fish, 741,329, which were made into 951,230 

 kilograms of klip-fish, about 1,000 tons (14 fish to 18 kilograms), were 

 caught by 56 vessels of about 52 tons each and 12 men per vessel. Of 

 these vessels 16 were from the Orkney Islands, and 40 from the Shetland 

 Islands. The remainder of the fish were caught by boat fishermen. 

 The fisheries were most productive near the Shetland Islands, where 

 1,413,865 fish were made into klip-fish, at the rate of 9^ fish to 18 kilo- 

 grams [about 40 pounds]. 



As regards the fisheries with vessels, on which the fish were i)repared 

 at sea, they were carried on in — 



All of these fish were made into klip-fish. From the above figures 

 it appears that these fisheries have declined steadily. 



