In the second place there is a difference in the fishing 

 methods for herring and bottom fisho' The latter groups are 

 continuously chased by the trawlnets^ while the herring fishery 

 is limited to certain seasons o The herring;, therefore, has a 

 period of rest* 



II DISTA.NT FISHING GROUNDS 



lo Iceland 



ao Progress of the Fishing© 



Data on the fishing intensity, that is to say the number 

 of fishing trips made^ are available only from England and Germany. 

 It increased considerably during the period 1920 to 1930 and has 

 remained about constant since theuo Nevertheless ^ the fishing 

 intensity will have been increased after 1930 through the en= 

 larged fishing capacity of the ships o Hife believe that the 

 intensity of fishing in Icelandic waters increased during the 

 period 1920>=39o 



If we observe the column which shows the total average annual 

 catches, it appears that the increased fishing intensity did not 

 lead to a constant addition to the catches o The catches show a 

 maximum annual catch during the period 1929<=33s thereafter, the 

 average annual catch declined agaiuo If we observe the various 

 fish species in the table we find a decrease in the catches of 

 cod, haddocks, halibut and plaice© The decline of the latter 

 three species seems especially disturbing since the average 

 annual amounts during the period 1934=38 are below the quantities 

 which were brought in during the postwar years ('Jforld Tfar X) 

 when the fishing intensity was lower© The fact that the catch- 

 per=hour fishing of English trawlers have not increased;, regard- 

 less of the added fishing intensity, shows that the density 

 of the fish stock must have declinedo Against the decline in 

 the landings of the discussed species stands an increase in 

 the landing of *koolvisch* and red sea percho This does not 

 mean that the catches of these species have increased^ formerly 

 this fish was accepted as practically worthless and either 

 thrown back or not completely included in the statisticso 



Although the data are not sufficient to make a definite 

 conclusion, we believe that a more intensive fishing of these 

 waters will be harmful to the productivityo From the values 

 given here, we estimate the total optimvtm productivity of 

 Icelandic waters to be 500 million kilogrmas of marketable 

 bottom fisho 



S&. 



