[7] STATISTICS OF NOEWEGIAN FISHERIES. 339 



ing the latter half of July 150 barrels of small herring, which sold at 3 

 or 4 crowns [80 cents to $1.07] per barrel. Later in the season, during 

 August, the herring made their apijearauce near the west and south 

 coast of Langoe, near Hasseloe, and in the West Fiord, where near Flak- 

 stad 400 barrels of herring were caught. In the beginning of October 

 the herring again made their appearance near Sortlaud, large numbers 

 being noticed in the Siger Fiord and near Hindoe, where a large number 

 of net and seine fishermen gathered. JSTo very important catches, how- 

 ever, were made, partly because the herring here, as in other places, 

 kept at a great depth for a long time, so that even the, net fishermen 

 but rarely reached them, partly because the weather grew very cold, 

 and the fiord was covered with ice and snow to such a degree as to 

 hinder the fisheries at the very time when the prospects of the seine 

 fisheries grew brighter, and several seines had already been cast. The 

 yield of the Sortland herring-fisheries was estimated at 3,000 barrels, 

 principally " merchants' " and "medium" herring, which found ready 

 buyers on the various merchant- vessels which had come to Sortland, at 

 prices ranging from 17 to 20 crowns [$4.55 to $5.36] per barrel. 



About the same time of the fisheries in the Siger Fiord, the herring 

 also made their appearance near Oksnajs and in most of the fiords on 

 the west coast of Langoe. Herring fisheries were carried on in the E-ygge 

 Fiord, the Barkestad Sound, the Langoe Sound, the Boroe Fiord, the 

 Auen Fiord, the Skiel Fiord, as well as in the Sandset Bay, and the God- 

 viks Bay, where the herring, although as a rule keeping in the depths, 

 occasionally came near the shore, jjrobably chased by cuttle-fish and cod. 

 At the very beginning of the fisheries there was occasion to use the 

 seines; and, on October 5, thirty-six hauls were made with seines near 

 Oksnses, many ^f them yielding a considerable number of fish. The 

 majority of these fish, however, were lost, owing to the nature of the 

 bottom. On November 9 the fisheries at Oksnaes came to a close, as 

 the great mass of herring, though still near, continually kept at a great 

 depth, and were but rarely caught even with nets; and as the rich fish- 

 eries which had begun in the Eids Fiord attracted the fishermen to that 

 locality. The result of the Oksnses fisheries is calculated at 10,000 bar- 

 rels of salt herring. The fish were almost exclusively large merchants' 

 herring, selling for from 17 to 21 crowns [$4.55 to $5.62] per barrel for 

 net herring, and from 18 to 24 crowns [$4.82 to $6.43] for seine herring. 

 The last remnants of seine herring fell in price to 5^ or 6 crowns [$1.47 

 to $1.60] per barrel, principally because there were but few buyers. 

 Forty seines, 200 boats with nets, and about 1,000 men are said to have 

 been engaged in these fisheries. The Eids Fiord, however, was again 

 to become the principal place for these fisheries ; and this time with a 

 result which is certainly unique in the history of the Norwegian fisher- 

 ies. Toward the middle of August large masses of herring were no- 

 ticed iu the Vesteraals Fiord, thearnj of the sea between Langoe and 



