25-2 



is well founded, it is at the same time settled that an increased 

 interest will be attached to the question of the causes of, and laws 

 troverning, atmospheric pressure. But this is an exceedingly difficult 

 problem, for, as an English scientist, F. W. Harmere), says: — 

 „It seems impossible in these questions to distinguish between cause 

 and effect. Temperature, pressure, winds and ocean currents act and 

 react upon each other as links in an endless chain." 



It is evident that, if tiie connection referred to really does 

 exist, an important advance in weather prognostications will also 

 be of some weight with regard to the prediction of the fisheries. 

 And it would then be a reasonable supposition that an investigation 

 of the distribution and degree of heat of the Gulf Stream in the 

 Norwegian Sea. in December, for instance, would provide material 

 wliich would make it possible to get an idea of the prospects for 

 the subsequent Lofot fishery. Similarly, it may be supposed that, 

 if the fluctuations in the fisheries were given a place in the group 

 of phenomena, which vary during the so-called „Bruckner Periods", 

 a helpful plan of the rise and fall which occur in the fisheries 

 mio'ht be obtained, by means of the historical-statistical method. 



One is then tempted to conclude with regard to the Lofot 

 fisheries that as tlio years 1886—95 were unusually favourable, it 

 is not likely that the present marked poor yield of cod can last 

 much longer, a change for the better must soon occur. It is, 

 however, a fact that the changes in climate hardly occur with the 

 regularity which the word „ period" demands. In the last edition 

 of his Meteorology, Mohn writes (p. 302): — „Beyond the daily 

 and the yearly period in the course of the meteorological elements, 

 we know no other period in the weather changes. One day, the one 

 year, is not like the same day, another year, one month, the one 

 year, is not like the same month another year; there is,indeed, a 

 variation from one year to another in the weather, which seems quite 

 iri'egulai-.'" 



But on tiie other iiand, tlie circumstance that bad years, — 

 as well as good years, — both on land and at sea are inclined to 

 follow each other, would seem to modify the supposition that there 

 is an interchangeable tightening and slackening in the play of for- 

 ces. At any rate it will be exceedingly interesting to follow the 

 working out of the problem: — Are there pei'iods of years which 

 are characterized by great downfall, high medium water-level, good 

 winter herring fishery, less good cod fisheiy, cold summers, with 

 sometimes „green" years for the farmer; and are there periods of 

 years when there is little downfall, low medium water-level, good 

 cod fishery, less good herring fishery, diy and warm summers, with 

 sometimes „dry" years for the farmer? 



With regard to the special problem hero being dealt with, 

 what lias ali'eady been said will, I hope, make it clear tiiat thei'e 

 seems to be an agreement between the yield of the cod and herring 

 fisheries and the winds, for whose influence the downfall has been 

 used as a measure. To this method may be objected that the cod 

 and lierring fisheries are carried on in certain months, while the 

 calculations of the downfall are made for the whole year. But it 

 should be noticed that those months, in whicli these fisheries are 

 carried on, arc the richest in the year in downfall. Consequently, 

 there will hardly be any real ditt'ei-ence in results on account of 

 tlic method lierc adopted. It might, however, perhaps be found 

 tiiat the agreement between tlie winds and the yield would be 



•) Influence . 

 Joui-n. Geol. Soc, 



greater, even in details, if the downfall for the months September — 

 December were taken in conjunction with the downfall in the months 

 of January — April in the succeeding year. Any very detailed 

 agreement must not, however, be expected, as the catch foi' a single 

 year is only an uni'eiiable measure of the actual quantity of fish 

 present.') 



The observations of downfall are of comparatively recent date 

 in our country, consequently they can only be used as a measure 

 of the effect of the winds, during recent years. But there are 

 other things which g-ive hints as to the conditions previously. Dur- 

 ing the last period of years in which there was a surplus down- 

 fall, a storm flood occurred in Lofoten and caused much damage. 

 Richard Hansen writes about this, as follows: — ..During the 

 week, 19th -26th January (1901) a violent stoim of wind from 

 southwest, to northeast raged; and on the 22nd, there was such 

 high water that it was unparallelled in the memory of the oldest 

 inhabitants, and much damage was done by this unusually higli 

 flood all along the Lofoten district."-) This kind of damaging flood 

 will probably only occur in years with great downfall and high 

 average water-level, so that the mention of such a flood makes it 

 possible to draw conclusions with regard to the weather and mat- 

 ters connected with it. When, for instance, Absalon Pedeesson, 

 in his diary') mentions that on November 1st 1570 „a very great 

 and high flood occurred, whose equal no one in Bergen remembered 

 and which did great damage to flour, malt and fish," one might 

 from this circumstance conclude that herring catch was made during 

 these years. Fiom Christmas 1570 to February 1571 there was 

 according to the same writer, severe frost, and the herring fishery 

 that year was a failure, but the next year (1572) herrings were 

 caught in the beginning of Februai'y, and in the years proceeding 

 1570 in February herrings were regularly to be had in the 

 Bergen market. From several sources, we find that the yeai-s 

 1740—12 were „bad" ones or „green" years. Professor Hans 

 Strøm, in his well-known description of Søndmør, mentions that 

 spring-herring fishery was started there about 17-10, „that is to 

 say about the same time as the general failure of crops occurred 

 in Norway." And at another place, in the same work, he says 

 that the summer is generally short and warm, but „from 1740 the 

 summer here has generally been cold and damp with thick fogs, 

 which have continually come in from the sea and brought a cold 

 northerly, or westerly, wind in its wake." Here we have a clear 

 combination of bad weather and inflow of spring-herrings, and this 

 is not the only example of its kind. The first „green years" men- 

 tioned in our history occui'red during the reign of Harald Graa- 

 I'ELD (961 — 970), and were exceedingly bad. Snorre relates that 

 „the country people were almost entirely without grain and fish". 

 At Helgeland, there was great hunger and want. Oivind Skalde- 



1) After this was written, J. Rekstad'.s interesting treatise on tlie changes 

 in Xoi-wegian glaoiei's was publislied („0m Justedalsbræen" Berg. Mas. Aarb. 

 1904). Rekstad comes to the conclusion that temperature exerts a greater 

 influence than downfall ori the changes in the glaciers, and in the course of hi.s 

 investigations, lie lias compared the downfall curves for the period 1st May — 

 1st September, and fiom September — May. He says (1. c. p. 70): „0n cim- 

 sideiing the anual curves and those for the 8 winter months, it was found that 

 they (downfall curves) pretty closely corresponded. When the annual downfall 

 was great, the same was the case in t^he winter months; and when the annual 

 downfall, on the contrary, was small, the corresponding was found to be tnii>. 

 with regard to the winter months." 



2) Norges Fiskerier 1901, Nr. 2, p. 109. 



3) Cf. Nioolaysen's edition (1860), ij. 20:3. 



