592 



REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



[fiO] 



tolerably good everywhere in the first half of Febriiarj-, was so iu the 

 second half and until March 8, almost exclusively from Henuingsvair 

 westward ; later, on the contrary, and until the close of the month, that 

 is, from the 15th, almost entirely from Hopen eastward. The following 

 facts, however, antagonize this opinion : 



1. Fishing began at all the easterly stations on the same day. 



2. It continued iu West Loffoden with a good yield many days after 

 it had begun in East Loffoden. 



3. It closed in West Loffoden at the same time at the majority of the 

 :stations. 



If there was a marked advance from west to east this should have been 

 :shown by an increased fishery from west to east, if only for a short time. 

 Of course from March 4 to the 14th there was no commou fishing day, 

 :aud four whole days were spent ashore, the Cth, 7th, Dth, and 13th, 

 i>o that it was difficult to follow the course of the fishery. An advance 

 i5hould, moreover, have seemed an exceptionally good catch for the im- 

 Xdements employed; but this was not so marked as to be conclusive. 

 No relation between- the fishiug at the different stations, therefore, can 

 be shown this year with certainty. In order to reach a conclusion, if 

 possible, in the future, I shiill continue the detailed records of the fish- 

 ■ery which I begun in 1878. In the following table is given a synopsis 

 ■of the course of the fishery during the last three years: 



Table LXI b. 



Time. 



Fii-nt hiilf of February. 

 ;Spfond half of February . 

 First half of March.... 



1878. 



1880. 



Henningsva-r to Bal- 

 stad. 



Eastward of Hennings- 



\sev, to and including 



Svolvicr, Raftsundet. 

 Eastward of Ilenuinsis- 



va»r, to and including 



SvolviBr. 



Ure to Hopen Good fiahing every 



where 



Henningsvrt-rtoStam- 

 sund, and part of 

 Ski oven. 



i5econd half of March . . Balstad to Vaagen Westward of H e n • 



j ningsvter. 



.April ; Westward of Statnsuud . WestWard of Balstad 



Westward of Sund. Ordi- 

 nai'ily quite good line 

 fishing everywhere. 



Westward of Hennings- 

 v.Tpr. 



To the 8th, westward of 

 Henningsvier; from the 

 8th, (eastward of Ilop^n, 

 to and including Ost- 

 niBsfjord. 



Eastward of Hopen, to and 

 including Ostnajstjord. 



Henuingsvajr, and west- 

 ward of Sund. 



SiiKje the conditions in Raftsundet, Ostnaesfjorden and Gimsostrommeu 

 appear to be, in a measure, similar, I have examined the fishery in these 

 places of late years, as far as there was any to investigate, when I have 

 liad the materials to work upon. From the following table it will be seen, 

 meanwhile, that there is no regularity here, as one year there may be 

 tisliing iu all of the three places, during another year in only one of them. 

 As is well known, all experienced fishermen have fixed signs by which 

 they believe they can foretell the course of the fishery. Though such 

 rules of experience are generally based only on observations within an 

 extremely limited circle, they may j^ossibly have some value, wherefore 

 I seek, as far as possible, to confirm their correctness or incorrectness. 



