1 895 ^O- 9- HYDR.-BIOU STUDIES OF THE XORW. FISHERIES. 57 



In former times a rich fishen* was carried on in the fjords near Lister- 

 land, Flekkefjord, Sogndal, Rægefjord &c. Of late years the stretch 

 of coast, portra\'ed in the Chart of Depths II (See Chart of Depths I), 

 has been the best Spring Herring Fishery District, even if fishing is 

 prosecuted in other parts, esf>ecially also somewhat further to the 

 Xorth\\-ards. A glance at the Charts of Depths I and II, shews us 

 that the coast shelves downwards towards »the Norwegian Channel« 

 (coloured Ught blue). The lOO fathoms curxe forms the boundary be- 

 tween the channel and a plain oft" the coast (coloured with light and 

 dark brown tints), from which the bottom gradually rises towards the 

 numerous islands and rocks. If one follows the 6o fathom cur\e one 

 will find the shallows proper ( Flak '-shallow, shoal) where the herrings 

 spawn, between which furrows or gullies of various depths run towards 

 land. The bottom of these guUies are covered with grey ooze, whilst 

 the shallows are covered with sand and fine shells thus aflfording spots 

 for spawning purposes. One such shallow extends round the island 

 Utsire, another hes between Urter and Rovaer, a third fi-om Espvær to 

 the Northwards, as well as otliers. Up on the shallow there exists, as 

 before mentioned, hundreds of islets, islands and rocks between which 

 he numerous narrow channels some covered on tlie bottom with sea- 

 weed, others with fine sand. 



\Mien the spawning time of the Herring draws nigh (as a rule in 

 Januar\-) the shoals collect off the coast. ^The originally diverse shoals,« 

 says Sars', /thus finally amalgamate and form an enormous compact 

 body of closely packed herrings (»sildebjerg'- = mountain of Herrings' 

 which like a connected wall of great dimensions, not only in a horizontal 

 but in a vertical direction, approaches the land.< These v-ast »walls« 

 of herrings then advance fi-om the Norwegian Channel through the gul- 

 lies up to the shallows. In favourable years they ad\-ance up to the 

 beach, up in all the sounds and bays, and one can then find the roe 

 of the herring covering great stretches of the bottom. 



1894 was such a year. During the hea\y westerly gales in the 

 end of Februar\- and beginning of March, it happened, as the Inspector 

 says in his Report, that there were enormous bodies of herrings under 

 the land< just when all the fishermen had to remain ashore, and tliat. 

 owing to this, a famine was on tlie point of breaking out. In those 

 days, when the material for the Surface Chart (D) was collected, the 

 Inspector states that a whole > wallt of herrings was in Gittere Sound 



• Report for the year 1S73, p. 1223. 



