592 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



meters, or li inches, iu length, and showed already distinct coloi|, 5-G, 

 more or less^dark streaks running all round the body, while on the sides 

 a silvery or golden gloss could be seen. Some days when the weather 

 was very fine and calm I took excursions far out on the Westfiord, and 

 likewise found, even at a distance cf one-half a (Norwegian) mile from 

 the coast, young codfish under the meduste floating on the surface of the 

 .water, not only under the variety having long threads {Cyaneacapillata), 

 but also under the harmless disk-shaped ^ledusa aurita. Sometimes I 

 even found them keeping quite still under other objects floating in the 

 sea, e. </., pieces of algiB, &c. 



This was the extent of my observations for this year. The season 

 was now so far advanced that 1 had to think of my return and defer 

 any further observations of the young codfish till next year. I was 

 still of opinion that the (comparatively speaking) few codfish which 1 

 had found near the medusiB were only stragglers, and that the great 

 mass of them had gone out to the deep, uoc to return to the coast till they 

 were fully matured and ready to spawn. I was very anxious, however, 

 to reach absolute certainty regarding this matter, and even if I should 

 fail in this, it would be very interesting to follow the further fate of these 

 young codfish which remained near the coast, as far as possible. 



The following year (18C7) 1 left Christiania about the middle of July, 

 and arrived near^he Loffoden Islands about the time when last year I 

 had to close my investigations. It will easily be understood that I 

 hastened to get out to sea, as fast as possible, so that I could connect 

 my observations directly with those of last year. I also succeeded, the 

 very first day, when from Skraaven I was making an excursion far out 

 on the Westfiord, in observing a few young codfish which kept under 

 the medusae floating about near the surface of the water. I did not suc- 

 ceed in catching any of them, but I became convinced that this years 

 fry could be observed under the same conditions as last years, and that 

 they were not so far developed as to leave any gap in my observations. 

 Later, I became convinced that their number near the coast must be 

 very large, by examining the stomachs of a number of large fish, espec- 

 ially the large pollack, which, about this time, were caught in large 



numbers. . . 



Every one of these pollacks was crammed with young fish, often it is 

 true in such a state of decomposition that it was impossible to decide 

 to what species of fish they belonged, but just as often I could ascertain 

 these to be young codfish, the only strange circumstance being that they 

 were all considerably larger than any of those I had observed near the 

 medusre. This seemed to prove that the young codfish, when they aban- 

 doned their roaming life near the surface, kept nearer the bottom of the 

 sea in order to find their food, which the medus£e did no longer supply. 

 But as it was my object not only to study the mode of life and further 

 fate of the codfi^sh, but also to make them the subject of as complete 

 and thorough a scientific investigation as was possible, observing the 



