THE COD FISHEKIES NEAR THE LOFFODEN ISLANDS. G.'j9 



able ciiciinistance, however, was this, that all these fish had their stom- 

 achs tilled with herriug-roe wiiich they threw ui) iu great quantities as 

 soon as they were put iu the boat. A considerable uumber of herriug 

 must therefore have been iu these waters if such an enormous mass of 

 roe was left as to cover the bottou), as it must have done. It is nothing 

 new that cod and other fish of prey devour a great deal of the llowing 

 roe: and it is an old experience that after the herriug fisheries a large 

 number of cod come to the spawning-places, especially on the west side 

 of the island of Karmo. Nor is there any cause to be alarmed at this. 

 In accordance with the laws of nature only a certain portion of the 

 enormous quantity of spawn left by the schools of spring-herring is 

 destined to develop, while the remainder is intended as food for fish and 

 other marine animals, which I have also shown to be the case with the 

 roe of the cod. I feel convinced that the usual number of herrings have 

 also visited the coast this year and have spawned in suitable places. 

 Even if the great mass of spring-herrings have this year and partly also 

 in the preceding year, from some unknown cause, spawned at a greater 

 distance from the coast than usual, this does not prove that they will do 

 so always, much less that they will leave the coast entirely. I thinly 

 there is no absolutely certain indication of such a sudden change in the 

 migrations of the herring. The idea that the Bohuslitu herring-fisheries 

 should have any connection with our herring-fisheries, seems to me to 

 be still more absurd. I think, on the other hand, that there are many 

 reasons for encouraging the hope that the herring-fisheries on our west- 

 ern coast, under more favorable circumstances, will also iu the future 

 prove successful in the old fishing-places, of course with slight variations 

 iu the number of fish caught. The careful observations of the summer- 

 herring which I have made this summer have confirmed this opinion. 



With regard to the nature of this herring (the "summer-herring") 

 very erroneous ideas have been prevalent among naturalists, as it has 

 been considered as a different variety from the spring-herring, or as a 

 separate species of herring. Mr. Boeck has sjiread this erroneous o[)in- 

 ion by repeating the statement of Professor Nilsson which is based on a 

 mistake,* that the summer-herring spawns in autumn while the spring- 

 herring spawns iu winter and early in spring. If this were really the 

 case, that the summer-herring spawned at such a diliVrent season of the 

 year, it would, in spite of its close reseuiblance to the spring-herring 

 from a zoological point of view, have to be considered not only as a dif- 

 ferent variety but rather as a separate species. There may be herrings 

 which spawn in autumn, and this is especially the case with the so-called 

 " Kulla-herring," found on the Swedish coast of the Kattegat ; but this 

 different spawniug-season is caused by different natural conditions. On 



* Professor Nilssou's statement is. verbatim, as follows : " This Kind of herriug (the 

 Norwegian summer-herring) resembles, as has been said before, the Kulla-herring, aud 

 is, like this one, said to approach the coast in July and August and to spawn iu Septem- 

 ber aud October." Skaudiuavisk Fauna, T. 4, part 3, p. 511. 



