1056 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



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The Romsdal fisheries in 1885 yielded the following quantities: 



Number. 



Sondmore 2,011,500 



Romsdal 265,500 



Nordmore 1,306,800 



Total 3,583,800 



These figures are below those of 1S84 iu each instance, and consider- 

 ably less than the average for several years back. 



In the Tromsoe district the cod fisheries have been on the increase 

 daring the last few years, giving in 1885 l,4oo,800 fish as against 1,241- 

 801) in 1884. On the other hand, the Fosen (or South Trondhjetu) fish- 

 eries were not so productive as iu former years, falling from an average 

 of about 1,000,000, and from 1,7G6,000 in 1884 to (589,400 iu 1885. The 

 ftamdalen fisheries yielded 018,400 iu 1885, against 424,000 in 1884. 



The quality of the fish was about the same iu 1885 as in 1881, They 

 were fat and plump, but the Lofoden fish were very small. But the 

 fish were not so fat nor did they contain so much liver as in average 

 years, when one hectoliter of liver may generally be obtained from 350 

 fish, while in 1885 it took 500 fish to yield one hectoliter. 



The average prices paid at the fishing stations were much below those 

 of 1884, especially in the case of round fish and roe. The inspector of 

 the Lofoden fisheries said iu his report that with reference to roe the 

 fall iu price could be attributed only to accidental circumstances. Re- 

 garding "the price of the fish, however, he thought the cause a different 

 one. In 1880 and 1881 the price was lower in the Lofodens than in 1885, 

 but he considered it doubtful whether it would again rise as rapidly, as 

 the competition in the codfish trade is considerable, owing to the in- 

 crease in the French cod fisheries near Iceland and Newfoundland. 



Fat-herring fisheries. — The yield of these fisheries in 1885 was nearly 

 twice as great as iu 1884; but the value was not much greater, owing 

 to the low prices. The principal fat-herring fisheries were, as usual, 

 carried on in the Nordlaud district, where the quantity caught was 

 408,570 hectoliters, or nearly five-sixths of the entire quantity. A com- 

 parison of 18S4 and 1885 is afforded by the following table: 



Spring-herring fisheries. — The following table shows the yield, value, 

 and average price for 1884 and 1885 : 



