THE SALT-WATER FISHERIES OF BOHUSLAN. 169 



Still more increased for iis by tlie fact that it either hinde'rs or favors 

 fishing iu a greatly varying degree, thus influencing the very sources of 

 our knowledge. 



The influence of the wind on the herrings varies considerably as the 

 lierrings approach the coast either for the purpose of seeking food or 

 for the purpose of spawning, a circumstance which hitherto has been too 

 much overlooked, which makes the working-up of the material on hand 

 peculiarly difficult. 



From the observations at our command it seems to be certain that 

 when herrings approach a coast for the purpose of spawning, they seek 

 quiet waters. Storms often prevent them from reaching their accustomed 

 spawning-places, or compel them, if they can wait no longer or have come 

 close to the coast, to come quite near the land or to go far away from 

 their usual spawning-places which are in deep water, whilst a gentle 

 wind, fi'om whichever quarter it may come, has very little influence on 

 the herrings. Land-wind may, however, as a general rule be considered 

 most favorable to the fisheries during the spawning-season. 



Eegarding the influence of storms on the herrings during the spawn- 

 ing-season fisheries, we must here give the results of that valuable com- 

 parison of facts from the Norwegian sjiring-herring fisheries, which we 

 owe to the "historical investigations" of Axel Boeck. He found that 

 during a violent land-storm the herrings seek the coast, when the best 

 fishing is near the sheltered fishing-places, whilst during violent sea- 

 wiad the herrings but rarely go to those places where they are generally 

 caught and which are quite open towards the sea. During long-contin- 

 ued northwesterly and southwesterly storms herrings often visit places 

 where they never come otherwise, and go farther up the fiords. During 

 long-continued sea-wind the spring-herring fisheries cannot be carried 

 on in the otherwise quite regular course from south to north. Boeck 

 also relates, of the same fisheries, that during calm weather the herrings 

 often separated into smaller schools, and the chief fisheries did not com- 

 mence until a southwesterly or northwesterly wind had stirred up the 

 water and mixed the lower and warmer layers with the upper and cooler 

 ones. 



On the east coast of Scotland, near the Moray Firth, land-wind is con- 

 sidered favorable to the spawn-herring fisheries ; but for those fisheries 

 which are carried on farther out in the open is'orth Sea, sea-wind is con- 

 sidered better, more especially on the banks far from the coast. It is, 

 furthermore, thought that for these fisheries southern winds are better 

 than western winds, and for the herring-fisheries near Yarmouth western 

 winds are most favorable. For those herring-fisheries which in the 

 northwestern portion of the North Sea, at a considerable distance from 

 the coast, are carried on by the Dutch and Germans, northerly winds 

 are considered more favorable than southerly, and westerly than easterly 

 winds. The fisheries in the open sea will, of course, show a considerable 

 difference from the coast-fisheries in regard to the influence of the winds. 



