AN ACCOUNT OF THE FISHERIES IN NORWAY IN 1877. 737 



K.— VALUE OF THE PRINCIPAL PPODCCTS OF TUE NOR- 

 WAY FISHEEIES. 



1. Value at places of export. 



187C. 



19,683,700 kilos. (43,394,085 pounds) dried fisli, at $9 per 100 



kilos.* - *- $1, 771, 533 



33,038,050 kilos. (72,835,085 pounds) Idipfisch, at $11 per 100 



kilos 3, 034, 200 



91,428 barrels salted cod, at $5.80 per barrel 530, 282 



12,170 barrels large berriug ") , ^_ „„ 



'at §5 CO per ) m 



23,607 barrels spring herring )■ , " . > 5, 023, SOo 



801,325 barrels summer herring, brisling, &c. ' 



to which a lead of six to uiae pounds is attached as a siuker. This line ends in a 

 tinned or galvanized-iron chain, of about three farhonis in length, so that it cannot be 

 injured by the familiar habit, of tho iish, hereafter to be described. 



The hooks are made of strong iron or steel, nearly four-tenths of an inch in diameter. 

 As soon as the boats reach the bank, they are brought to anchor, and the cord let 

 down ; before this, however, a perforated box, filled with rancid or jjutrid seal 

 blubber, is fastened about two fathoms above the hook. This substance escapes through 

 the holes of the box, and is carried along by the water, thus attracting the fish to the 

 hook, which is also baited with seal blubber. 



The fisherman holds the line in the hand, as in cod-fishing, and as soon as it is ob- 

 served that the animal has taken the hook, by a sudden jerk this is forced into the 

 mouth. As soon as captured, the shark rolls himself round and round in the chain, 

 which is not injured by the rough, file-like skin, as would be the case with a line. 

 The animal is then hauled up, sometimes by the use of a windlass. As soon as it 

 appears above the surface, it is killed and held fast until the belly is opened, and 

 the liver removed. The swimming bladder is then filled with air by means of a pipe, 

 so that the carcass will not sink. It is then fastened to the stern of the vessel. Some- 

 times other sharks follow the carcass of the dead one, and are occasionally caught by 

 means of gaff's. 



When the boats leave the banks, a buoy is generally fastened to each carcass, so 

 that it may remain at the surface without sinking. Otherwise it would be eaten by 

 its fellows, who would neglect the baited hooks. 



The yield of this fishery is not only dependent upon the wind and weather, which 

 are so inconstant in the Arctic seas, but also upon the variation in the size of the 

 iish and their abundance. Some of the fish furnish a liver weighing only 25 to 30 

 pounds, while from others livers of '220 to 450 pounds are obtained. 



Of late years the carcasses of these sharks have been brought ashore, for the pur- 

 pose of being manufactured into manure or guano ; especially when they are taken 

 inshore near the land, as is the case sometimes in the winter ou the coast of Finmark, 

 where they are sometimes taken with trawl lines. These trawls usually carry thirty 

 hooks, sis or seven fathoms apart, and are kei)t immediately above the bottom by 

 means of glass floats. 



The annual yield from this fishery amounts to eight to ten thousand barrels of livers, 

 worth one hundred jjnd fifty thousand gulden. 



The oil of this animal, obtained by steam heating, is extremely fine, and is used for 

 purposes of illumination. The undissolved portions of the liver are then boiled, and 

 furnish the brown tanner's oil. — Translator. 



* The equivalent of the kilo, (kilogram) is 2.2046 pounds. The values originally given 

 in francs have been reduced to dollars of five francs each. — Translator. 

 47 F 



