[9] THE SPRING HERRING FISHERIES OF NORWAY. 135 
must of course be in some way connected with each other, and doubt- 
less depend on the circumstance that the herring go farther north. 
As to time, the spring herring came—as has been said above—later 
and later towards the end of the period; and this phenomenon was the 
same in both districts. Another circumstance, relative to the spring 
fisheries along our entire coast, likewise deserves to be mentioned here, 
when the spring herring commenced to come later and later in the sea- 
son, they were first seen in the southern district, then in the northern, 
and finally, somewhat later at Séndmére, which order of time probably 
depends on the geographical location of the different districts, and cor- 
responds to the order of place which the spring herring observed when 
gradually disappearing from our coasts. 
With regard to the great herring fisheries we can, to some extent at 
least, observe the same regularity as in the spring-herring fisheries.* 
It is a well known fact that the great herring commenced to appear 
near our coasts in 1861, when large schools of them were observed off 
the northern and western coasts of the Lofoden Islands and Vesteraalen. 
In the beginning, however, they kept at a distance of several miles from 
the coast, and only approached it in rare cases to within a distance, 
which enabled the fishermen to catch some. Gradually they were mov- 
ing farther south. In 1863 they appeared north of Helgeland, near 
Threnen ou the Island of Lwrd, and to some extent also near the Myk 
Islands and near Rédd. In 1864 they were observed south of Helgeland, 
near the outer islands of Heré and Vegé, and also—according to reports 
from merchants and fishermen of Christiansund—still farther south 
near Sulen, Halten and Hitteren, and at Nordmore, near Smelen, Talqs6, 
Grip, and Stemmet.t At Nordmore there was excellent seine feign: and 
large hauls were made; but unfortunately many of these fish were lost 
again during a most a nlen storm, which actually resembled a hurri- 
cane. The great herring during the following years continued to make 
their appearance far south, which fact is also mentioned in the reports 
on the fisheries of Norway, published by the Department of the Interior. 
_ During these years the whole coast of Norway from Karmoé to Finmark 
was literally surrounded by herring. South of Helgeland, however, no 
great herring fisheries of any importance were carried on. According 
to the reports published by the Department of the Interior, which speak 
of the occurrence of great herring near Vigten, in the district of Nam- 
dalen, they seem to have disappeared from those localities at the same 
time when they moved farther north into the great-herring district 
}froper. Lae: the years 1863 and 1869 there were fisheries as far north 
ao = = a ae So ee: See — 
* My success of ‘ofocmation for the following review of the great eee fisheries 
have been the reports published every year and every fifth year by the governors, and 
by the Department of the Interior. 
t See also the report for the five $-ars 1361 to 1865, by the governor of Romsdalen, ac- 
cording to which the herring in 1864 and 1865 appeared near Nordmére and near Loms- 
dalen. Nothing is said, however, in this report among what class these herring should 
de counted (with reerd te the size of the herring, see Boeck’s report for 1873, p. 8). 
