FISH. 67 



of which 550,000 tunna are winter, and 35,000 tunna summer 

 herrings. 



But 1787 appears to have been the greatest season for 

 herrings off the Swedish coast, when Gothenburg something 

 resembled Melbourne in the early days of the gold diggings- 

 On the Gothenburg coast alone in this year the fishermen, ac- 

 cording to Mlsson, smoked above 4000 tunna, salted 400,000 

 tunna, pressed 2,000 tunna, and boiled down for oil about 

 1,066,000 tunna, (which yielded 44,000 casks of oil), or, con- 

 sequently, 1,472,000 tunna herrings ; and adding those that 

 were consumed or sold in a fresh state, it was calculated 

 that in that year above 1,500,000 tunna of herrings were 

 taken off the Bohus Land coast, just outside Gothenburg ; 

 or reckoning the usual number of 1000 to the tunna, about 

 1,500,000,000 herrings ; being, however, a very small propor- 

 tion of the immense shoals which then frequented these coasts. 



Many speculations have been hazarded respecting the 

 cause of the almost total disappearance of the herrings from 

 these shores, the two most feasible of which seem to be the 

 casting out into the sea, during the great herring fishery, of 

 the refuse from the oil-melting and salting-houses, and 

 the immense destruction of small herrings by the use 

 of the large nets called here "vaderne." These herring- 

 nets, until 1852, were ninety fathoms long, and six 

 fathoms deep, and so fine that they had forty meshes to 

 every two feet ; but now it is not allowed to use a net of 

 more than forty fathoms long, four fathoms deep, and the 

 meshes must be one inch from knot to knot. 



Every endeavour to bring back the herrings to these 

 coasts since 1808 appears to have entirely failed, and about 

 60 to 100,000 tunna of small herrings is the yearly catch at 

 the present day ; but, as we have said before, in Norway the 

 herring fishery still affords a good source of revenue. 



The deep sea fishery grounds of the Bohus Land fisher- 

 men is a bank named " Jaderns Ground," lying in the North 

 Sea about sixty Swedish miles from Marstrand, and fifteen 

 from Egersund in Norway. The fishermen sail out to this 

 bank, and are probably absent a month, but as they 



