JOHAN HJORT. M.-N. Kl. 



Chapter I. 

 Historical Review of Previous Investigations. 



The Norwegian Fisheries are due to the migration of fishes from the 

 open sea to the coast. These »influxions« take place with periodical 

 regularity, each of the great fisheries being bound to a certain time of 

 year, and, in all main features, the one year is but a repetition of the other. 



It thus happens that, during February and March, the great shoals of 

 cod appear along our entire coast and give rise to some of our greatest 

 fisheries, such as those of the Lofoten, and the Spring Cod Fisheries of 

 Nordmore, Søndmore, and Haugesund. At the same time the ancient, 

 and well known Spring Herring Fishery takes place between Stavanger 

 and Kors Fjord. 



During the Summer, the Mackerel shoals pour in towards the coast, 

 up the Fjords, even into the Christiania Fjord throughout its entirety, and, 

 at the same time, we again meet with the Herring along the coasts, 

 parti)' from the Northern portions of the Land Southwards (the »Fat Herring 

 Fishery«, or »Summer Herring Fishery«), and also, late in the Autumn, 

 far up the Christiania Fjord towards the Swedish Frontier (the East Coast 

 Fishery). If, however, in these relations, there is a certain regularity 

 which makes us believe that the annual migrations of fishes are dependent 

 on great and important natural laws, it, nevertheless, appears that the 

 influxions, within certain limits, are subject to great variations from 

 year to )'ear. These are best illustrated b}^ the examples from the his- 

 tory of the Herring Fisheries. The Dutch Herring Fishery has thus varied 

 to a vast extent. In the 17th Century it assumed such proportions that 

 the fishing fleet of Holland was manned by 200000 men. With us, it is 

 chiefly the West Coast Spring Herring Fishery that has been subject to 

 alternating good and bad periods. In the best years over 30000 men were 



