572 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



is very common, that the codfish must have been at a considerable dis- 

 tance from the bottom, for a great number were invariably caught near 

 both ends of the line, while toward the middle, which is of course nearer 

 the bottom, other fish were caught. The codfish must, therefore, have 

 .kept at a distance of 20 to 30 fathoms from the bottom. They do, how- 

 ever, change their position, and seem in this to be guided by various 

 circumstances, especially by the weather. If there be continuous cold 

 with coast wind, the current going out, which, as has been said before, 

 always occasions a considerable fall in the temperature of the sea-water, 

 the codfish generally keep nearer the bottom than during southwesterly 

 or so-called seawinds. I have often had an opportunity for making this 

 observation. When I made my observations near Svolviier, the weather 

 was very changeable, there were frequent westerly storms, and the 

 temperature of the sea-water was tolerably high, viz, near the surface 

 between + 2° and + 3^ C, and at the depth where the codfish were 

 supposed to be it was + 3'^ C. During my stay on the Raft Sound some- 

 what later in the season, when cold weather set in, the temperature of 

 the water at the same depth was considerably lower, viz, only a little 

 over + 2^ C, and the codfish were then much nearer the bottom. It is 

 possible that a long-continued spell of cold weather will hinder the cod- 

 fish from coming in, keeping them farther away from the coast than 

 would be the case in warm weather. 



Many other circumstances, however, may contribute to bring about 

 this result. It is very important whether there is sufficient food 

 in the sea, here chiefly small herring. This may be both beneficial and 

 detrimental to the fisheries. It is detrimental if the herrings keep far- 

 ther out, in which case the codfish are enticed away from their usual 

 spawning-places hunting after the herring schools, in other words, not 

 keeping steady on the elevated bottom ; it is beneficial if the herrings 

 are between the masses of codfish and the coast, especially where there 

 are deep fiords. If a large school of herrings can be kept far up one 

 of these fiords, a twofold advantage is gained : there is always fresh 

 bait, and the codfish can be kept in a place farther removed from the 

 immediate influence of the sea, where fishing may be carried on in nearly 

 every kind of weather. Such a place is the East-Noes fiord which pene- 

 trates the eastern part of the island of East Vaago from that bay of the 

 West fiord, which on the inner side is bounded by Skraaven and the 

 Molla Islands, and is known among the fishermen by the name of "Ho- 

 len." Here the fisheries have some years been very productive, espe- 

 cially near Folstad on the eastern side of the fiord, whither large num- 

 bers of fishermen have been attracted during the last few years. That 

 large fisheries cannot be counted on every year, has been sufficiently 

 proved by this year's fisheries, although some schools of codfish come 

 here every year. I am therefore inclined to consider the food of the cod- 

 fish as the principal cause of the extraordinarily rich fisheries which oc- 

 cur here from time to time, as well as in some other places, the Raft 



