SALT-WATER FISHERIES OF NORWAY. 665 



made daring my stay at Vadsii a number of zoological and physical ob- 

 servations in the Varanger fiord, which will prove very useful when, as 

 I hope, I shall have an opportunity to stay here during the herring fish- 

 eries, which, however, it would lead us too far to give here in detail. 

 From Vadso I returned to Vardo, in order to make some observations 

 which want of the necessary apparatus had prevented me from making 

 during my first stay. After having thus studied to some extent the 

 condition of things in the eastern portion of the herring district, I de- 

 sired for comparison's sake to examine one or more points in the west- 

 ern portion of this district, and, after a sojourn at Vardo, I went west 

 to Hammerfest, where I intended to begin my observations. I found, 

 however, that this place was less convenient for such observations, and 

 I therefore took the first steamer and went to the next stopping place, 

 Hasvig, at the sou thwest point of the island of Soro, an old and well- 

 known fishing station, which forms the western boundary of the herring 

 district. 



, My observations at this point, which I found very convenient in every 

 respect, yielded several interesting results ; the observations of the 

 temperature of the sea- water at different depths, which I made here, 

 were of special interest to me in comparing them with the observations 

 which I had made in the eastern district. Here, my attention was also 

 first directed to some physical conditions which I consider very import- 

 ant. 



I had now, by the observations which I had made at the four points 

 mentioned, obtained a tolerably correct idea of the condition of things 

 in the whole herring district ; and besides this, I had endeavored to get 

 all the possible information regarding the herring and the cod fisheries 

 dependent thereon, which I considered necessary as a basis of future 

 direct investigations of these fisheries. Thus far, I had therefore ac- 

 complished the object of this journey. 



Besides the cod-fisheries, however, another important fishery is car- 

 ried on in our northern coasts, which, especially of late years, had made 

 a most remarkable progress, and to which my attention was naturally 

 directed, all the more as the conditions under which this fishery is car- 

 ried on are to a great extent still enveloped in darkness. I here refer 

 to the great herring or sea-herring fisheries. I was therefore anxious 

 to gather during this journey all possible information regarding this 

 fishery, especially as it seems that during the last few years remarkable 

 movements are going on among the herring masses, which seem to take 

 them farther north than has formerly been the case. It is well known 

 that formerly the great herring fisheries as a general rule commenced 

 at Langenaes in Vesteraalen, and have then gradually gone south along 

 the coast of Helgeland. Last year (and probably this year too) the 

 great herrings made their appearance very early and much farther north, 

 considerable numbers coming even as far as East Finmarken, while the 

 fisheries did not extend much farther south than Bodo. This seems to 



