306 BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 



94.— EEJ-S AND EELPOTS IIV NORWAY.* 



Every one who has carried on eel-fisheries with eelpots knows that 

 he must get up early in the morning to take up the eelpots, as other- 

 wise the eels slip out again. In order to prevent this, John Knudsen 

 placed in the upper side of the eelpot a movable door or lid, which 

 opens inside by the least pressure of the eel against it, and closes again 

 by its own weight after the eel has passed through the opening. This 

 lid is made of the same material as the eelpor, namely, of thin willow 

 branches, and the necessary weight is given to it by pieces of lead 

 rolled round the branches. The principle is not new, but is applied in 

 different kinds of traps used for catching land animals. Among fish- 

 ing apparatus used in the water it is applied in DeCaux's lobster-trap. 



Comparative experiments were made near Tysnses last summer in 

 order to test Knudsen's eelpot and the one generally employed. The 

 two kinds of eelpots were placed side by side and supplied with the 

 same kind of bait. During one of these experiments the eelpots were 

 left untouched for two days, and when taken up Knudsen's eelpot con- 

 tained thirty-seven eels, while the other was empty. One of the advan- 

 tages of Knudsen's eelpot is this, that it will catch eels of any size, 

 while large eels do not go into the common eelpots, because the branches- 

 composing the neck are pretty close together, making it difficult for a 

 good-sized eel to squeeze through. Large eels, therefore, keep out of 

 these eelpots. Knudsen has received a premium of 50 crowns [$13.40] 

 for the model of his eelpot from the Society for the Promotion of the 

 Norwegian Fisheries, so that it became the property of this society. 



Of late years small quantities of salted eels have been shipped from 

 Norway to Hamburg, where they are smoked. Before the eels are 

 salted, as much as possible of the slime adhering to them should be re- 

 moved. The eels are dropped alive into a salt- brine, where they die at 

 once. They are opened from the head to the vent, washed in sea- 

 water, and finally drawn through the hands or through a roll of bast, 

 which retains the slime. Finally they are salted down in barrels. A 

 somewhat larger quantity of salt is used than in salting other fish. If 

 they are to be kept for any length of time, they should, after from eight 

 to fourteen days, be relaid in one-eighth barrel of salt, and some new 

 brine should be added. 



Eel-fisheries are not carried on in Norway to any -great extent. During 

 the sprat-fisheries eels are often found in large masses outside the nets. 

 Even if the fishermen did not eat them, or sold them fresh, they might 

 secure some little additional income by salting them. When salted 

 and properly treated, they are always sure to find a market. 



* " Johan Knudsen Haraldseidraags Aaleteine." From Norsk Fiskeritidende, vol. iv, 

 No. 2, Bergen, April, 1885, p. 154. Translated from the Danish hy Herman Jacob- 

 SON. 



