Combination. 



253 



siuldek, who lived at Tjotta, wrote about the common misery, 

 and he too was a great sufferer during the bad years. One spring, 

 there was an inflow of herrings to some outlying places, and Oivind 

 rowed thither to buy some. Snobee further writes that „the first 

 winter (070 — 971) that Haakon Jarl ruled in Norway, herrings came 

 around the whole country." We see, that, at this time too, bad 

 years and inflow of herrings were coincident, and I am, moreover, 

 inclined to conclude that, as there was such hunger and want at 

 Helgoland, the cod fishery had not been successful. Snoeee indeed 

 says that there was a want of fish. We know that, about a hun- 

 dred years previously, the Lofot fishery had been so good that a 

 man at Helgoland had been able to export stock fish to England. 



Right back in the olden days, there are sources of information 

 which hint at considerable variations in the yield of the Lofot 

 fishery. And at the present day. we have certain proofs that rather 

 great fluctuations do indeed occur. 



To confirm which, I will, finally, give a few features of the 

 history of the Lofot fishery in the 19th century. At the commen- 

 cement of the century in question, there were many bad years for 

 the farmer, 1812 being one of the worst. From an account written 

 at the time'), it will be seen that the Lofot fishery had so fallen 

 off that it was feared that it would altogether fail, and the reason 

 for this was not sought in natural circumstances, but in the 

 increasing use of nets during the fishing season. 



About ten years late] - , there appears to be an improvement 

 in the fishery. The clergyman in Saltdalen, S. C. JSo.mmekfeldt 2 ) 

 writes that, in the year 1823, there was a particularly good Lofot 

 fishing season, and the yield was calculated to be 15,923000 fish, 

 divided among 2788 boats. For the succeeding years the following- 

 figures are given by .Jens Kraft 3 ) for Lofoten and Vesteraalen. 



NY. "f beats. Ni\ of fish 



1825 - 2589 — 11509180. 



1826 279U — 12821760. 



1827 — 2916 - - 15SG4620. 



L828 1 ) - 2731 - - 13919380. 

 1829 - 3027 - 11076200. 



These figures, according to A. M. Schweigaakd 2 ) are too low, 

 as the fishers were supposed to have given too low numbers, on 

 account of tithes to be paid. As, however, the yield from Vester- 

 aalen 3 ) is also included in these figures, the yield for Lofoten alone 

 can hardly be said to be more than 15 millions. 



Fiom 1859, there are complete reports of the Lofot yield. 



A graphic illustration of the millions caught from 1859 — 1903 

 uives a particularly irreg-ular picture, suggesting a panorama of 

 Jotunheim. with a Galdhopig for the maximum year. 



It is evident that the catch of a single year may, to some 

 extent, be affected by more or less accidental factors, whose influ- 

 ence must be supposed to be disregarded when an average for a 

 period of years is to be given, e. g. a decennium. 



The result would then be: — 



1861— 75 18.4 million lM> 



1S76— 85 24.r, 



1886— 95 26.5 



1896—1903 15.4 



These figures are supposed to bo comparable. 



It is interesting to note that during- the years 1861 — 74, there 

 was a big-herring period in Nordland. At the same time, the aver- 

 age water-level is mentioned as being higher than normal, and the 

 yield of cod must be reckoned as not very good. The next period 

 shows an improvement in the yield, and the best seasons are 

 reached in the years 1886 — 95. This agrees beautifully with a low 

 average water-level in Nordland in the years 1S91— 94, and a 

 downfall less than usual in the same decennium. On the contrary, 

 as already mentioned, the Lofot fishery has of late years not been 

 very good, while there has been a surplus downfall. 



c. Some Remarks on the Cod-fishery in Finmark. 



The catch of spawning cod (skrei) in Finmark is not very 

 important, at any rate at the present time. Spawning takes place, 

 however, every year and Brevik and Hasvik in Soroen are import- 

 ant stations during the winterfishery in Finmark. A. F. Beemee 4 ) 

 mentions that, about 1830, there was a very good catch of „ skrei" 

 in the fiords of West Finmark, in particular in the Alton Fiord. 

 But in 1S3S a change occurred, and from that year the fishery in 

 the fiords was poor, and the reason Bkemer thought, was that the 

 considerable inflow of Ommatostrephes todarus (akker) and herrings 

 began just that year. Bremee, and others, also mention that from 

 1830 — 4o the .,loddefishery" c ') was very poor. It is mentioned as 



') E. A. Colban, Fors0g til en Beskrivelse over Lofotens <>g Vesteraalens 

 Fogderi (1814). Det Kgl. norske Vid. Selsk. Skrifter i 19de Aarh., Bd. 2, Trond- 

 hjem, 1824—27. 



2 ) Phvsisk-okonomisk Beskrivelse over Saltdalen, p. 139. ]>t-t Kgl. norske 

 Vid. Selsk. Skv. 19 Aarh. Bd. 2, Trondhjem 1824—27. 



3 ) Beskrivelse over Kongeriget Norge, 6 Del, p. 373, Kristiania, 1835. 



4 ) En gammel Finmarkings Betragtninger o. s. v. Hammerfest, 1881. 



5 ) By this expression is meant the cod fishery which is carried on at the 

 time when MallotllS viUoSUS, Mull, (lodde) spawns. 



a general rule that the winter cod fishery in Finmark is alwaj s 

 better in those years when the „lodde" (capelan) occurs only in 

 small numbers. The spring' cod-fishery, which depends upon the 

 capelans being followed on its spawning travels by young individuals 

 of Gadus callarias, is very much more important than the winter 

 fishery (skrei-flshery), therefore the absence of capelan is a serious 

 matter for the Finmark fishers economically speaking. It would 

 therefore be of great economical importance to get a thorough 

 knowledge of the capelan's life. In one of his latest works, Prof. 

 Collett 4 ) has collected what is up to the present known about 

 this fish. I beg to refer to this account, from which it will be 

 seen that „during the inflow, the capelan often travels in compact 

 shoals in the surface layers". Sometimes, spawning occurs at a 

 depth of a few meters, but generally deeper down (70—90 m.l. 



') Lofoten alone. 



-i Norges Statistik, p. 96. Kristiania, 1840. 



3 ) According to Sommerfei.dt (1. e. p. 139), the yield from Vesteraalen in 

 1823 was 581700 fish. 



4 ) Meddelelser om V rges 1 iske i Aarene 1884 — 1901, II. Kristiania Vid. 

 Selsk. Forh. f. 1903, nr. 9, p. 147- L63 



