382 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [20] 



the fishing stations on the Swedish side of the Sound as far noilh as 

 Baa, where eel fisheries are carried on with hommor, and alonj; the coast 

 as far north as Viken. North of that place there are no more eel fish- 

 eries Of late years attempts have been made to carry on eel fisheries 

 with hommor near Landskrona and also in the Schelderviken (the 

 Schelder Bay), but without any success whatever. At Molle, near the 

 Kullen promontory, it is thought eel fisheries with /wm«Jor could be 

 established if the bottom was more suitable for the purpose, so as to 

 allow the hommor to be put in position ; but the reason why the attempts 

 made near Landskrona proved tiiilures was not the nature ot the bot- 

 tom, for there it is well-adapted to the purpose, but simply the fact that 

 the eels in their migration through that and the southern part ot the 

 Sound do not go along the Swedish coast, but along the Danish coast 

 where the water is shallower, and where eel fisheries with hommor aiv 

 carried on from the neighborhood of Copenhagen as far north as Hel- 

 singor. I have been informed by fishermen that such fisheries are also 

 carried on in the Bay of Kjoge (south of Copenhagen). 



What can be the reason that the eels during their migration pass by 

 certain portions of the coast? Probably several causes contribute 

 toward this result. If one observes the nature of the coast in those 

 places where eels come near it, it will be found that these places are 

 either in the offing or along an open coast. The eels ascend toward 

 the coast from the depths, come close to the shore, pass along it for 

 some distance, and again return to deep water. The best places for 

 eel fisheries are in bays toward promontories which turn toward the 

 places from which the eels come. A glance at the map will show that 

 there are eel fisheries in the province of Blekinge near Horvik, and in 

 other places of the peninsula of Listerland, but not in the Bays of 

 Hellevik and Solvesborg. On the coast of Skane the eel fisheries com- 

 mence at Ahus and extend south of that place, the best place for 

 catching them being in the shallow bay extending from Ahus to 

 Stenshufvad. Outside this bay which is passed by the eels there 

 are many small islands. If we get to Falsterbo, we find that the 

 best eel-fisheries are in the Kampinge Bay and along the south side of 

 the Falsterbo promontory, but from that point the eels take a westerly 

 direction and go toward the Danish coast. That the eels do not go 

 over from the Bay of Kjoge to the Malmo coast is easily explained by 

 the fact that they follow^ the shallow channel between the islands of 

 Amager and Saltholm. The explanation given above, why the "blank 

 eels " do not approach the coast near Ystad, or that the eels in ascend- 

 ing toward the shore turn back again when they find shallow water 

 farther out, seems to be justified, and is also confirmed by information 

 furnished by Grisleham fishermen. They state that the best places for 

 catching eels are always on the north side of promontories; and the 

 farther these jut out into the sea the better will be the fisheries. 



Besides the " blank eel" and the " grass eel " the fishermen distinguish 



