[11] STATISTICS OF NORWEGIAN FISHERIES. 343 



correct, the Eids Fiord fisheries with nets aud seines must have yielded 

 about 400,000 barrels of salted fish. 



Although there were many merchant-vessels on the spot when the 

 great seine-fisheries began, the price immediately fell to 10 crowns 

 [$2.C8] per barrel. Soon fish were sold at 9 or 10 crowns, and later the 

 price varied from 8 to 5 crowns [$2.14 to $1.34], at Avhich latter price 

 all the fish were sold which had not been taken from the seines after 

 the end of November. The quality of the fish was good throughout, 

 as the fish caught were nearly exclusively merchants' herring and 

 medium herring; but as many of them remained in the seines for a 

 long time, partly because at times there were few buyers, and partly 

 owing to the short days and the frequent high winds and snow-storms, 

 the value of many of these fish was certainly diminished. 



In spite of the rich yield of the seine fisheries, the income of the 

 fishermen is stated to have been comparatively small. The share fall- 

 ing to each fisherman is stated by the superintendents to have been 

 about 200 crowns [$53.60], to earn which sum most of the fishermen had 

 to remain in the Eids Fiord about three months, under circumstances 

 \ which caused the price of all the necessities of life to be very high. The 

 manner of forming themselves into sets made the earnings of the fish- 

 (lermen about the same for each. 



I Already in the beginning of August there were about 100 merchant- 



I vessels in different parts of the fiord, and this number increased from 



day to day, owing to the rich net-fisheries and the expectation of good 



I seine-fisheries." From the time the seine-fisheries began, it is estimated 



I that the number of vessels was from 200 to 300, among them many 



[(steamers. The short working-days, which were still further shortened 



i|by frequent storms, made it almost impossible to prepare properly the 



lijentire vast quantity of herring, and people therefore in many cases 



i:confiued themselves to salting the herring without cleaning them. 



j There was no lack of workingmen to prepare the herring. The major- 



ijity of them came not only from the neighboring districts of Sortland, 



iHadsel, and Oksnaes, but also from the entire group of the Lofibden 



jlslands; and the good wages which were paid for preparing herring, 



jtherefore, though in a different degree, benefited the entire district. 



ji'With the net-fisheries, the preparing of the herring has certainly tended 



to improve the economical condition of the district very considerably. 



Previous to the Eids Fiord fisheries people were generally very poor, 



and without these fisheries there is reason to suppose that many 6f 



them would have had to suffer during the coming winter. 



The steamers also frequently brought working-people of both sexes 

 rom distant i)arts of Norway. All in all from 8,000 to 10,000 strangers 

 |are supposed to have congregated on the shores of the Eids Fiord. No 

 ife was lost during these fisheries. 



