AN ACCOUNT OF THE FISHERIES OF NORWAY IN 1877. 709 



botween the •' godtjisl^cri;' whicli takes place early in the spawning 

 season, and the '• loddcfisUri,'' or capelau fisbiug, wLich occurs later. 

 Although in Finmark also the cod seek the coast every year, espe- 

 cially after spawning time, the fisheries are very uncertain, and have 

 often in late years caused losses to buyers and to the fishermen who have 

 come from a distance. 



The exteut of the coast of Finland, where the fisli come to seek the 

 shores, is so great, and the weather generally so tempestuous, that it is 

 difficult for the fishermen to arrive at the proper time at the most advan- 

 tageous localities, especially as precisely at this portion of the year the 

 means of communication are very defective. The capelan, too, whose 

 presence is indispensable to success, is very capricious in its proceed- 

 ings; it appears sometimes at one point, sometimes at another, and 

 sometimes not at all. It follows that the fisheries of Finmark, as far as 

 outsiders are concerned, are generally of a doubtful character, sometimes 

 very lucrative, sometimes quite the opposite, while the home fishermen 

 can always work them to advantage. The principal banks {fisUvaer) 

 are Bredvig, Midfjord, Ingo, Gjaesvaer, Hjelmeso, Havosuud, Horniugs- 

 vaag, and Kjeldvig. 



The same instinct which drives these incalculable masses of fish 

 toward the coasts of the north to spawn, sends also to the coast of 

 Soudmore all the right wing of the same army. From the end of Janu- 

 ary or the beginning of February the cod commence to rush in by three 

 or four openings (Vanelvsgab, Bredsundsdyb, Boddy b, Gripholen) ; and 

 it IS claimed that this movement continues until the 12th of March. 

 Here, as in the Loffoden Islands, fishing closes toward the middle of 

 April. These fisheries have always been very important, and particular 

 attention has been paid to their development in the last half century; 

 the inhabitants of the district all take part in it, and the benefits have 

 not ceased to increase since Aalesuud has become a fair and sure market 

 for the products. Even here, howmuchsoever assured the product of 

 the fisheries of Sondmore may be, there are great irregularities of dis- 

 tribution. As an illustration, the fishery of Borgund, after passing 

 through the different extremes of great richness and extreme poverty, 

 disappeared almost entirely in 1830; and it is only in the last two or 

 three years that it has shown signs of returning animation; in 1877 the 

 fishing there was pre-eminently abundant. 



The yield of cod in 1877 was the most abundant of which we have any 

 record. According to ofiQcial reports it amounted to— 



In the Lofifoden Islands 29 500 000 



lu other fisheries of the north , * 4' 500' OOO 



f*^''""^^^'^ !.';-7.*.'[;!.*;;.* i7,'5oo,'ooo 



And at Sondmore, Eomsdal, N"ordmore 8, 500, 000 



Adding the yield of the various little fisheries along the 

 coast, estimated at , 7 500 qqq 



We have in all.. ,. 70,000,000 



