THE COD FISHERIES NEAR THE LOFFODEN ISLANDS. 643 



be noticed; but this is not the case. The summer-herring lisheries were 

 particularly rich this year on the Icdj^es of Stavanger; at any nite, no 

 decrease could be noticed, but rather an increase. 



It is well known that Mr. A. Boeck has, chielly from historical data, 

 reached the result that a so-called '• herring period " should now have 

 come to an end, and that consequently there would be a period of poor 

 herring fisheries. The same signs are said to show themselves now as 

 when many years ago the herring-fisheries came to an end. No one is 

 more ready than I to acknowledge the great merits of Mr. IJoeck in 

 having compiled the truly astonishing number of historical documents 

 which had never before been printed, the collecting and arranging of 

 wliich must have taken considerable time and trouble. 1 likewise ac- 

 knowledge the great value of such documents as materials for a history- 

 of the herring-fisheries. But I believe that in using these documents, 

 whose completeness and reliability decreases the farther back they date, 

 we ought to be very careful, and, at any rate, first and foremost consider 

 an accurate and exhaustive knowledge of the natural history of the her- 

 ring as the only really sound basis of our opinions. It is not at all 

 decided to my mind whetiier there are really such regular "herring- 

 periods." If we wish to talk of real periods, it is not sufficient to know 

 that once upon a time the herring-fishery proved a failure, and that 

 after a number of years it revived again. This must be repeated sev- 

 eral times under similar conditions in order to justify us in speaking of 

 regular " herring periods." 



D.— REPORT FOR 1873. 



As in the preceding year, I again intended to make use of the reg- 

 ularly CvStablished connection between the investigation of the fisheries 

 and. the coast-survey, and therefore resolved to go again on board the 

 steamer Hansteen, and stay there as long as anything worth observ- 

 ing should show itself. I considered this all the more important this 

 year, as surveys were to be made near the southern herring-district and 

 as thus I would be enabled to gather valuable information regarding 

 these fisheries. 



On the 6th of June I left for Hangesuud, where I arrived on the 8th, 

 and immediately went on board with all my apparatus. On the follow- 

 ing day we went out to sea. After soundings had been made at differ- 

 ent points outside the herring-district, I arrived at an agreement with 

 First Lieutenant Wille, according to which we would first follow a line 

 from the coast to the reef, lying about in the middle of the district whiph 

 had been selected for this year's surveys. This line ran in a westerly 

 direction from the Selbjorn's fiord. On this trip, which occupied several 

 days, the bottom was carefully examined with the bottom-scraper, speci- 

 mens brought up by the sounding apparatus were likewise examined, 

 and frequent thermometrical observations were taken at different depths. 

 .Besides this, a careful comparison was instituted for every point with 



