AN ACCOUNT OF THE FISHERIES IN NORWAY IN 1877. 729 



The pursuit of this species, which used to begin in the beginning of 

 the month of September, was prosecuted with bar-nets or seines, so as 

 to inclose all the herring entering into such a cove or inlet. The great 

 herring contained roe and milt like that of the spring herring. 



As sold by the intervention of city dealers it was first examined and 

 stamped by the sworn inspector ; the brine was then taken away and the 

 barrel filled up again, several handfuls of salt being added, and the mer- 

 chandise was thou ready for export. The spring herring was siuiilarly 

 treated. 



A barrel of spring herring contained thus 500 to 550 fish, 12 to 122 

 inches in length. A barrel of great herring contained about 150 her- 

 rings, 14 inches in length ; its net weight was 240 to 255 pounds. The 

 countries consuming them are the same as those receiving the spring 

 herring ; that is, Sweden, Russia, and the German ports of the Baltic 

 and North Sea. The districts where the great herring was especially 

 found were Langnaes, Fleinvaer, Fuglevasr, AasVcBr, Skibotvser, all situ- 

 ated in Xordland. 



3. The summer hereing. 



The summer herring , which was formerly still more uncertain in its 

 appearance than the spring herring, has in late years become a reg- 

 ular visitant to our coasts, and the product has attained dimensions 

 quite as considerable as those of the spring herring in the best years. 



The fisheries are extended over a very long line, from the heights of 

 Bergen to Southern Finmark. The pursuit-commences in July and 

 continues to December. 



The size and the quality of the fish improve toward autumn and di- 

 minish again toward winter. The implements of capture employed are 

 similar to those used for the spring herring, with some modifications 

 imposed by the differences of weather and place. The supply of fish- 

 ermen for this work is not nearly as considerable as it was for the 

 spring herring ; most frequently the fishermen of the locality prosecute 

 it. It is true they cannot pass their nights at home, but they are so few 

 in number that the neighboring farms can accommodate them. The 

 dormitory-boats thus become superfluous, especially as the fishing takes 

 place principally during the fine season. 



The summer herr^ig are caught with the soino or net. To the south 

 the seine is used exclusively ; in the Eomsdal, but, above all, in the 

 environs of Drontheim, and more to the north, the net is employed. In 

 the Gulf of Namsos and other places they use floating or drift nets, 

 with which, when the nights become dark, they catch quite considerable 

 quantities at the mouth of the Gulf of ISTamsos and in the Gulf of Fol- 

 den. The reason that toward the south they employ gill-nets less fre- 

 quently is probably that the intestines of the herring are so filled with 

 undigested food (aat) that they cannot be salted before removing this 

 substance, without which the fish would soon burst. It is with this 

 object in view that the herring are left for three consecutive days in the 



