34 
other cause. There are many thousands of these small, exceedingly well-flavoured 
oysters at just as dangerous places in the Lim Fjord; on this see Krøyer's report.! 
Table Ill likewise shows a number of measurements of oysters dredged at 
Volstrup, just beyond where the others were taken with the pole-dredge, in 2—3 
fathoms but at a distance of about a hundred yards. These also do not seem to 
have grown appreciably from the spring to autumn 1906 nor from 1905 to 1906; 
but many of them are however over 9 cm. in length and a large number are up 
to the present standard; whether all could grow so large is a question I do not 
venture to answer. The largest I have dredged and represented in the Tables 
were ca. 5!/, inches (14 cm.). Although the oysters may be much larger In the 
Lim Fjord, "it is not normal; many oysters certainly never grow larger than 
3—4—5 inches, - even if allowed to live as long as they can; this is well-known 
among the experts of the Lim Fjord, and was just the reason why the rectangu- 
lar standard was introduced; as it prevents the old and thick oysters from passing 
through, even though not 3 inches broad. In so far the introduction of this 
standard was a great improvement on the earlier methods (ring standard). We have 
however certainly not gone far enough in the direction of reducing the standard 
and of using all that may be used. 
The measurements on Tables I and II indicate that the oysters of the 
Lim Fjord only with difficulty reach over 3——3!/, inches in length, since the 
maximum of the adult falls there as a rule. Whether this is a consequence of 
the fishery just permitting the oysters to be taken down to this size, or whether it 
is because the oysters as a rule hardly grow over this size on the banks, is 
difficult to say; but, so much is certain, that not all oysters can reach 
such a size, and that the limit (37/, inches) is generally represented by compa- 
ratively old and slowly growing oysters. Why should we retain this con- 
siderable size? At most other places in the world. much smaller oysters are eaten. 
One might think that the reason was, to be sure of keeping so many large oysters 
that the stock would certainly be preserved, and this idea has also perhaps been 
the reason for the retention of the standard in recent years; but the oysters re- 
produce right down at a length of 2!/, and 2!/, inches long, and further it would 
be much better for the preservation of the stock, if, provided that only a certain 
number of millions had to be fished, a number of these millions were from among 
the young oysters, as all the more large oysters would remain behind and the 
7 Note. The measurements of oysters given in Tables I—III are made across the 
oyster from the umbilicus down to the opposite corner; this was necessary in order to obtain 
comparable data. It is often however not the largest dimension; sometimes they are broad 
sometimes long. These measurements are therefore not directly comparable with the rectangular 
8 cm. 
standard now in force | | 3 cm.; as the oysters slip through this sometimes longways 
sometimes broadways. according as they are short or broad, and if placed obliquely in the 
rectangle oysters of ca. 8!/, cm. can pass through, especially if the fine corners are rubbed off. 
Since further the oysters are here always measured at their shortest part, sometimes longways 
sometimes crossways, this standard by no means makes all oysters from 8!/, cm. and less which 
are included in the Table under-sized, but it has appeared from practical trials that many oysters 
in the Tables of 9 cm. would be taken as under-sized. Before new standard apparatus is intro- 
duced into practice, exact investigation of its practical applicability should be made. 
