THE SALT-WATER FISHERIES OF BOHUSLAN. 149 



called knowledge of the trade, or, in other words, the science of the 

 trade. 



The science of the fisheries, i. e., the knowledge of how to carry on the 

 fisheries, fully develoi)ed and arranged as a whole, forms the science of 

 fishing, properly so called, and in proportion as it is really scientific, fish- 

 ing becomes a branch of natural science. 



In order to make the necessary technical investigations, a good knowl- 

 edge of natural science is required as well as a special knowledge of those 

 branches of natural science which form the theoretical foundation for the 

 special science of the fisheries. 



§ 13. As fishing requires a knowledge of the mode of life and other 

 characteristics of fish as well as of the fishing- waters, so fishing carried 

 on as a trade requires a knowledge of the laws of economy. We there- 

 fore need an economy of the fisheries just as much as their practical and 

 scientific knowledge, although the latter is certainly an essential condi- 

 tion of the former. 



A wise administration must never favor one trade at the expense of 

 another which is just as important or perhaps even more so, thereby 

 bringing about a conflict of interests which cannot in any way be bene- 

 ficial to the state. The fisheries must therefore be considered in their 

 relation to other trades and occupations, especially agriculture and nav- 

 igation, the general welfare of the state, the means of communication, 

 &c. Special regard should also be had to the changed circumstances of 

 our times incase the great herring-fisheries should again be revived f 

 which event, strange to say, has for nearly half a century been rather 

 considered as a curse than as a blessing for Bohuslan.''' The social ques- 

 tion of our coast will, therefore, likewise have to be considered — a ques- 

 tion whose solution may puzzle our wisest men. All this becomes the 

 su.bject of a special branch of knowledge, which might be termed " the 

 economy of fisheries," whose aim would be to i)romote the fisheries by 

 working uj) the various scientific methods and corroborating their use- 

 fulness by practical experiments, always considering the economical value 

 of the fisheries for the public as the foundation on which all improve- 

 ments in the fishery-laws and the administration of the fisheries should 

 be based. 



The fisheries should therefore form the subject of the most thorough 

 and exact treatment even from an economical point of view, and this all 

 the more as the want of such treatment has doubtless been the chief 

 cause of the insufficiency of our fishery -legislation. 



§ 14. The investigations must, furthermore, extend to the whole subject 

 of law and administration 5 for since their purpose is to gain that knowl- 

 edge which is necessary for carrying on and superintending the fisheries 

 in the most efficient manner, attention must not be diverted from this 

 object or extended beyond its limits. As such a course would only delay 



''A. V.Ljungman: " NdgraOrdomdestoraiohus-UnslcasiUfislcena." Gottenburg, 1877, 

 p. 28. 



