WIDEGREN MANAGEMENT OF THE BALTIC FISHERY. 141 



in tlie streams during their spawning-season in autumn, and tliat no nets 

 shall be set at or near the mouth of streams in such a manner as to hinder 

 the salmon from reaching their spawning-places in large numbers. Ex- 

 perience has shown that wherever these regulations have been carefully 

 observed, the salmon-fisheries have very soon improved considerably^ 

 Every fisherman, therefore, who has the true interest of the salmon-fish- 

 eries at heart, should, above everything else, see to it that the fishery- 

 laws are carefully observed in his neighborhood. 



Salmon-fishing in the Baltic is chiefly carried on with net«. As this^ 

 method of catching salmon is well known, it needs no further description.. 

 But salmon may also be caught with lines in the open sea near the outer 

 coast. This is done on the southern coast of Sweden, and Ave shall there- 

 fore briefly describe this method of fishing. 



It is well known that the salmon stays in the sea dm^ing the latter part 

 of autumn, winter, and spring. Whilst the young salmon which spend 

 their first year in the sea prefer to stay near the mouths of rivers, or, at 

 any rate, not far from the coast, the older ones generally spend the cold 

 season of the year in deep water, following the schools of herrings which 

 are found there. The fishermen on the coasts of Skane and Bleking 

 make use of this circumstance, and during winter and spring, whenever 

 the sea is free fr-om ice, and stormy weather does not interfere with fish- 

 ing, catch many salmon, which at this time are sojourning in deep water. 



As was mentioned above, hooks and lines are used in this fishery. 

 The hooks are laid in the open sea, and the lines are kept in position by 

 anchors or heavy weights in the same way as is done in the cod-fishery 

 in the open sea. The line is not, as is generally done in other fisheries, 

 sunk to the bottom, but is kept floating near the surface by means of 

 large cork-floats (Figure 5, Plate I). The line must of course be strong 

 and the weight heavy, so the fish, which are generally large and powerful, 

 may not carry everything away with them. As a very long line would 

 doubtless get entangled during the winter- storms, only short lines are 

 used, measuring about 20 fathoms in length, with no more than three to 

 four hooks on each line. To make up for this deficiency a large number 

 of lines is set, each with its separate weight. Cheap and very suitable 

 weights may easily be obtained by inclosing large pieces of rock in a tri- 

 angular lattice- work of wood, with sharp sticks of wood projecting on all 

 sides. 



For bait, herrings are generally used, which are attached to the hooks 

 in the manner shown in Figm^e 5, Plate 1. The hook should be of strong 

 galvanized- steel wire, of the size and shape shown in Figure G, Plate III. 



Fishermen who use hooks and lines for salmon-fishing should of course 

 be provided with a sufficient number of lines, so they may set new lines 

 when going out to sea for the purpose of examining those which have 

 been set for some time. As soon as the warm weather sets in, salmon- 

 fishing with hooks and lines ceases, partly because the salmon then go 

 up the rivers, and partly because the warm temperature of the water 

 makes the bait spoil too quickly, so that it becomes entirely useless. 



