[17] 



THE LOFFODEN FISHERY IN 1880. 



549 



last third of January and the beginning of February. On the first of 

 February, consequently, not more than one-third of the fleet was present. 

 The majority arrived between the 8th and the 14th, at which latter date 

 not quite two-thirds had come out. At the close of the following week 

 the fleet was assembled. Those which arrived late were partly deep- 

 water fishermen, partly fishermen from neighboring districts, who went 

 to Loffbden for the sake of the Ostnaesfjord fishing, and partly fishermen, 

 who had previously carried on winter fishing in home waters. 



The Finmark fishermen, as usual, begun to clear at the end of March; 

 however, because of the fear. of low prices, fewer than common were 

 destined at first for Finmark waters. The cessation of the fishing in 

 Ostnaesfjord before Easter, and in East Loffbden immediately after, 

 soon gave an opportunity for a general break-up in the first 8 days of 

 April, after which time scarcely a single foreigner was fishing east of 

 Balstad. Westward, nearly 1,000 boats were engaged. 



Table VIII shows the number of boats which were present in the 

 different inspection districts at the close of each week. For the weeks 

 ending February 14 and March 20 there is given besides a special state- 

 ment for the different methods, wherefrom it will be seen that nine- 

 tenths of the line fishermen had come in the middle of February, 

 against only a little over seven- tenths of the net fishermen ; whereas 

 the opposite proportion existed last year. Of the deep-water fishermen, 

 as usual, only a little more than one-half had arrived. 



Moving (shifting berth) during the fishery occurred to a greater ex- 

 tent in the latter half of February from East to West Loffbden, where, 

 however, some were obliged to sail as far west as Reine for want of 

 house room in the remaining stations ; in the first half of March, also, 

 they moved from Ure, Stamsund, Henningsvser, and a part of Hopen, 

 to the more easterly stations and to Ostnaesfjord. 



Table VIII. 



