10 



gear can iisli, then it is all right, and it is all the sunio whether it is made in 

 one way or auother. I tlioiight so inyself i'ormerly. But 15 years' work has 

 taught me soniething else: by studyiiig tho nse of oui' various sorts of fishing- 

 gear, by personally fishing with theni, by having in my service and lalking 

 these matters over with some of our most intelligent fishermen, I have learnt 

 that there can be an immense difference in the fishing capacity of fishing-gear 

 which, superficially examined, looks alike: ono apparatus has httle faults in 

 the constrnction while another is made as it should be. All of them can fisli 

 something, that is true; bnt the more difficult fish, eels for instance, are not 

 to be canght by any seine, even though the meshes are small euough. — I still 

 remember, though it is more than 12 years ago, the pity with which the fishermen 

 sometimes looked at my first fishing-gear, among othcr things ju«t a little 

 double-trawl. Thoy were right, i]i as far as such gear should be nscd only, if 

 we eau use no other, or if we do not care particularly hi catch large, i|uick 

 animals; but we cannot jiretend with such gear lo Ihorouglily invcstigate the 

 stock of fish in the sea. If we Avill make fishing-gear, wc must learn the tråde, 

 go through our apprenticeship, just as well as, for instance, a tiulor must learn 

 his tråde; tradition and fashion are of great consequence to both crafts. Wlien 

 I particularly mention the tråde of a tailor, it is because I here find so many 

 similarities. A seine must have no other folds than those necessary, or 

 the current that runs through it will be inlluenecd disadvantageously . aml 

 the fish will take the alarm. The whole form of the gear must be correct, 

 without the .slightest obliciuity, etc, and Ave cannot see its form till we try it 

 on, i. e. till it is placed in the water; not till then, by floats and weiglit and 

 the pressure of the water, it gets is proper form. One seine can »fish«. another 

 one »cauFiot fish«, says the fisherinan; and the fishormon have a thorougli 

 knowle<lge of all details Avhich are here of any (■ousc(|uonce, rarely writteu 

 down, but generally enherited ))y tradition from generation to generation. 



It will now lie understood, why I sclccted a Danish fishing-ajiparatus, 

 the (Jrag-seine, for fishery on waters of a somewhat greater depth. As above 

 mentioned, we tried it first with a beam; this, however, proved to be unprac- 

 tical. The fishermen can easily use it with a beam on 3 — 4 fathoms of water, 

 because they let the beam fioat in the surface ; there will be no danger of its tuiniing 

 round. But on deeper water, where the fishermeu never come with eel-seines, the 

 beam must under the water, and then the difficulties appear. Tlie beam of 12 — 14 

 feet in length was soon abandoned, and two otter-boards from l'lymoutli, which 

 I hap]iened to get ]iossession of, were employed to extend the arms of the 

 .seine. It appeared that the eol-seine in this way very well could be used like 



