172 EEPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



Tliiis we know fi'om Scotlaud that the lierrings, immediately before a 

 storm, come near the surface ; and in several j^laces in Bohusliiu, espe- 

 cially on the coast of Fjellbacka, it has been observed that the herrings 

 go away from the coast'against storm and weather, although some time 

 after the storm there is generally again good fishing. It must be remem- 

 bered that a storm is often preceded by commotion in the water and 

 other causes which may influence the herrings. 



19. Eegardiug the influence of the iceather in general, it should be no- 

 ticed that the herrings evidently prefer even and mild weather, free 

 from all extremes; and such weather is, in most cases at least, an essen- 

 tial condition of successful herring-fisheries. The herrings especially 

 dislike all sudden changes in the weather, and it is even asserted that 

 they are so sensitive in this respect that by their actions they show a 

 distinct foreknowledge of changes in the weather, to which circumstance 

 we shall have occasion to refer again. 



It must be borne in mind that it is chiefly the general character of the 

 weather ^^ which here comes into question, and that in order to under- 

 stand its influence it is necessary to have reliable and as far as possible 

 complete synoptic weather observations covering a much larger area 

 than a few fishing-stations. It must likewise not be forgotten that the 

 spawning herring is much less influenced by the weather than the her- 

 ring which comes to the coast to seek food, so that the fishing for the 

 former is much more certain than that of the latter. Fishing with float- 

 ing nets near a coast is much more dependent on the weather than fish- 

 ing with stationary nets. 



I have on the coast of Bohusliin often heard the failure of the potato 

 crop brought in connection with good herring-fisheries, and with a cer- 

 tain show of reason, as weather which is favorable for the autumn and 

 winter herring-fisheries, is generally unfavorable for the growth of pota- 

 toes. This agrees with Oisler''s observation from the ISJ'orrland herring- 

 fisheries, where the fishermen say that when the corn grows weU on the 

 land there is not much fishing in the sea, and when the sea is full of fish 

 there is little corn on the land. Similar observations from the last cen- 

 tury we find in the works of ScMn'mg, Strom, and Lyhecker, and there is 

 doubtless a good deal of truth in them, especially in former times when 

 agriculture was not so advanced as it is now, and to a great extent 

 depended on the state of the weather. 



It should finally be mentioned here that there is supposed to be a cen- 

 tennial periodicity in the weather caused by the relative number of 

 solar spots, according to which larger and smaller solar-spot periods 

 have been spoken of, and by the changing position of the moon towards 



39 The general character of the weather is best seeu in the winds as the fullest ex- 

 pression of all its determining features, and as having the greatest influence on the 

 mode of life and the migrations of the herrings. The general character of the weather 

 must, however, be taken into consideration, not only during the fishing-season, or the 

 days and weeks immediately preceding it, but also during the different seasons of the 

 year, and for longer and shorter periods, each comprising several years. 



