120 FISHERIES OF THE NORTH SEA 



is enormous. As an indication of the 

 wealth of the Arctic seas we have the seals, 

 whales, gulls, petrels, etc., which subsist 

 entirely on the life in the ocean. 



The fish make annual visits to the Ice- 

 landic grounds, just as the herrings come 

 down our coast in their proper season ; 

 thus the migration for spawning, which is 

 always shorewards, is one of the first condi- 

 tions for a successful fishery. It is as if 

 those fish which remained uncaptured one 

 season made appointment to a day when 

 and where the next meeting of fishermen 

 and fish should take place. Owing to the 

 constancy and regularity of these visits 

 the experienced fisherman knows exactly 

 when and where to find the different kinds 

 of fish in abundance. The entry of Grimsby 

 and Hull steam trawlers marked a new era 

 in the Iceland industry ; the fishing became 

 world-wide in importance, and English, 

 German, Dutch, and French trawlers were 

 before the war mingling in fleets above 

 the fishing grounds, the Icelanders using 

 smaller craft and drying the fish on 

 shore. 



With the advent of the war, conditions 



