{19] THE GREAT BOHUS-LAN HERRING FISHERIES. 117 
As has been said, the herring industry would be greatly benefited if 
it could be concentrated in a limited number of favorably located ports, 
which would gradually assume the importance of cities or towns, as 
has been the case in Scotland, where in this manner many of the in- 
conveniences were avoided which followed our great fisheries in the six- 
teenth and eighteenth centuries. The advantages of such a concentra- 
tion, both as regards the keeping of good order in the fishing stations, 
and the gradual building up of industries connected with or springing 
from the herring fisheries, which at the close of a herring period will 
furnish a means of gaining a living to our coast population, is so self-evi- 
dent that it does not need further proof. It is not so clear, however, in 
what way such a concentration shall be brought about. To do so by 
forcible means, as in olden times, is at present out of the question; a good 
deal, however, might be accomplished by granting special rights and 
privileges to the most favorably located ports, and by introducing vari- 
ous improvements, such as establishing telegraph stations, building 
embankments, improving the harbors, reducing the customs duties, &c. 
The most important means of reaching the object in view, but which of 
course will only apply to a small number of places, is the construction 
of railroads connecting such parts with the rest of the country, espe- 
cially if thereby a regular trade in fresh fish can be builtup. Itis more 
than a mere conjecture that a town will spring up at such a port, and 
that, if it is judiciously selected, the fishing industries of that whole 
neighborhood will be concentrated there. In selecting a place for build- 
ing salt-houses and other establishments needed for the herring industry, 
care Should be had to find a place where there are telegraph post, steam- 
ship, railroad, and custom-house stations, and suitable dwellings for the 
workmen, from the same reason that people move into cities to follow 
various trades and industries, in spite of the fact that ground costs a 
great deal more there than in the country. If the herring industries 
could be concentrated in the way indicated above, and if new towns 
could be made to rise on our coast, the present herring period would 
leave a lasting memento behind it, and would be forever memorable in 
the history of Bohus-lin. 
It will be evident that so vast and so peculiar an industry as our peri- 
odical herring fisheries cannot be properly regulated by our existing 
laws, which all apply to normal and not to extraordinary conditions, 
Exceptional cases demand exceptional legislation; amongst the rest 
with regard to the vice of drunkenness, which during the last herring 
period prevailed to such an alarming extent. There is urgent need to 
limit the right of selling liquor on the coast during the fishing season. 
Proper regulations as regards the maintenance of good order, the ap- 
pointment of vigilant and energetic police officers and inspectors, will, 
as the fisheries continue to grow in importance, also prove of incalcula- 
ble benefit. 
No one will deny that the influence of churches and schools is indis- 
