XXXIX.-THE MIGRATIONS OF EELS; 



By Dr. Otto Hermes. 



The Swedish superintendent of fisheries, Dr. R. Lundberg, has pub- 

 lished an interesting pamphlet on the eel-fisheries with so-called 

 "hommor" on the Swedish coasts along the Baltic and the Sound, 

 giving accurate observations on the migrations of eels on the coasts of 

 Sweden, which, in the main points, strengthen the supposition that the 

 mature eels seek the water of the Kattegat and the North Sea — which 

 is Salter than the Baltic — for the purpose of spawning. These observa- 

 tions agree with those of Mr. Dallmer, which have been reported in these 

 circulars (1880, p. 200; 1881, p. 18), and of which Dr. Lundberg does 

 not seem to have had any knowledge. It is nevertheless a fact of con- 

 siderable interest that Dr. Lundberg, without knowing anything of Mr. 

 Dallmer's observations, was, by his practical experiences, led to employ 

 the same method for his own observations. For, as Mr. Dallmer states 

 in a letter to the committee of the German Fishery Association, the 

 "hommor" used in Sweden for catching the migrating eel, are, though 

 somewhat different in form, still in principle, in construction, and in 

 the manner in which they are used, the same as our eel-baskets. With 

 due regard to the habit of the eel, to migrate along the coast, the "hom- 

 mor" fisheries are only carried on during the latter part of summer and 

 autumn. 



After Dr. Lundberg has given a sketch of the extent of the "hom- 

 mor" fisheries he arrives at the conclusion that from these fisheries the 

 route taken by the eels during their migrations along the coast can 

 easily be recognized. It apj^ears that the eels, after having avoided cer- 

 tain portions of the Swedish coast, such as the coast of Sodermanland, 

 &c., cross from the Cape of Falsterbo towards the Danish coast, and do 

 not again approach the Swedish coast till they have reached the nar- 

 rowest i)art of the sound near Helsingborg. The reason why the eels in 

 their migrations do not follow the Swedish coast altogether is sought 

 by Dr. Lundberg in the varying depth of water along the coast, in the 

 currents, and other circumstances which still need investigation. Pos- 



*"Zur Wanderimg dcr Aale." — From circular No. 2, 1884, of the German Fishery Asso- 

 ciation, Berlin, February 27, 1884. Translated from the German by Herman Jacob- 

 80N. 



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