' ■ 34 



tlie lishery profitably iu our neigbouring seas tlian, more especially, England 

 and Gerraanj'. For the foreigners must sail the long and expensive waj' 

 with their steam-trawlers, both from and to their hornes, in order to fish 

 on our fishiug-grouuds; and if this can be profitable to them, it must be 

 still more profitable to us to carry on these fisheries. Yes, prohahly it is 

 so; but it must be remembered tbat the price of coal is somewhat lower 

 in Englaud tlian iu Denmark, and tbat tliere is both in Germany and in 

 Englaud a much greater, alread}' well-established, market for trawl-caught fish 

 than in Denmark. When I have formerly regarded this matter as quite 

 hopeless in Denmark, the reason is, more particularly, that a certain circum- 

 stance connected with it has not beeu clear to me till quite lately. I have 

 not thought it possible that the fish the trawlers take, haddocks, cod, deep-sea 

 flatfishes, etc, could fetch acceptable prices iu Copenhagen; for trawl-caught 

 fish, as everybody kuows, is not living. The steam-trawlers generally catch 

 sucli large masses at a time in the trawl, that the fish is squeezed to death 

 in the trawl while being hauled in. Sucli fish are therefore not first-class 

 goods like our usual, living fish. The trawled fish is iced iu the warmer 

 season, after it is cleaned; in the colder seasou, which on the whole will 

 be the hest if not the only time for trawling, tliis is not necessary. The 

 trawl-caught fish, wliich is tlie principal commodity on tiie European iuland 

 raarket, is as yet but little known here. But these last winters a couple of 

 small trawlers (one with steam and another with sails and auxiliary engine) 

 have carried considerable quantities of all kinds of fish, from soles, turbots, 

 and plaice to cod, haddocks, lemon dåbs, etc, to the free-port of Copenhagen, 

 where they have had a ready sale, thougli the fish are not so good as living 

 fish, onli^ because the price is lower. There is, consequently, an indication liere, 

 that Copenhagen will eat second-class fish, if obtainable at proportionate prices. 

 This was the cireumstance of which I wanted information. 



It is scarcely necessary to state tliat fisli is nearly always very dear iu 

 Copenhagen, i. e. first-class plaice, cod, and otlier living fish. 50 Øre per 

 pound of plaice and 25 Øre per pouud of cod are not uncommon prices, 

 and it seems that second-class fish is always rare in this city, at any rate 

 at low prices. 



In order to be able, in rough outlines, to make a comparison with 

 (iermany, where the market is based on trawl-caught fish, I shall mention the 

 average prices for 1903 in Geestemiinde harbour, where more than 100 steam- 

 trawlers land their fish, cliiefly caught in the North-Sea, the Skager-Rack, 

 and the Cattegat. 



According to the official statistics of Geestemiinde for 1903, the average 

 price for cod was c. 11 Øre per pound, for plaice c. 13 Øre per pouud, and 

 for haddock c. 8 Øre per pound. These are auction-prices, consequently whole- 

 sale prices, aud I want expressly to say that we can never expect to obtain, even 

 approximately, such good fish as those which are sold at present in Copenhagen, 

 at such low prices. Most likely, it will never liappen; for tliere is so great a 



