596 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [64] 



ruary until near the middle of March, sometimes excellent during cer- 

 tain days at the beginning and end of the months named. 



Stamsund. — Four lines set at night were hauled for the first time, 

 January 10, near shore with a catch of 30 to 80 cod. During the four 

 sea-going days which occurred in the week between the 11th and the 

 17th of January, the catch was uniformly good, up to 300 per boat. 

 Between the end of January and the middle of February there were 

 nearly two days of poor fishing ; from the middle it remained good until 

 towards the middle of March. Later it was irregular and poor. 



Nets (set two or three nights) were first hauled January 17, and they 

 took from 300 to 950 cod. If we except the close of the second week 

 of February, this mode of fishing was good until the middle of March, 

 whereupon it became poor, and so remained for the rest of the fishery. 



Deep-bait fishing was good at the end of February and the beginning 

 of March. 



Vre. — Lines (set at night) were hauled first on the 8th of January 

 with a yield of 40 to 50 cod, which catch on the following week in- 

 creased to about 100 on two to three tubs of trawl. From the beginning 

 of February to the middle of March fishing was uniformly good ; later, 

 with the exception of a couple of days at the close of the last-named 

 month, on the contrary, it was poor. 



One net set January 28 was first lifted February 4 and caught 12 cod. 

 On the 5th two boats hauled one which was set at night, and they took 

 8 and 13, respectively. From February the fishing was nearly as in 

 Stamsund, and likewise here during the last week of February and the 

 early part of March it was excellent. 



Day lines, which went into use in the beginning of March, did well 

 until the middle of the month. 



Balstad. — In the second week of February line fishing was variable 

 and poor, but after that quite good until the middle of March. At the 

 close of this month and in the beginning of April there was some good 

 sea-going weather also. 



Net fishing begun with March and then became quite good, and for 

 a few days even very good, until the middle of the month. 



In the middle of February cod were observed in Buksnsesfjord, as 

 the native fishermen caught on night lines as well as day lines from 5 

 to 30 fish. There was no fleet up there, however, before the middle of 

 March. Nets and lines set on the 16th in Gravdal Bay and Gjerstad 

 Cove were hauled on the following day with a catch of 100 to 150. On 

 the 18th the fishing was quite good, especially with nets, but extremely 

 variable. On the 19th and 20th many fishermen gathered and suc- 

 ceeded well with nets — on the 20th exceedingly well even with day 

 lines, while the night-line fishery was small. On the 22d the fishing 

 was ended. Since small herring were seen at the same time in the 

 fjord, the cod are supposed to have followed them. The cause of this 

 fishery can hardly be ascribed exclusively to the herring, since these 

 were present in large schools as well before the cod appeared in any 



