NORWEGIAN FISHING 159 



So much for the conditions of angling ; but 

 what of the fish ? The last few seasons have 

 seen a great increase of netting in the fjords. 

 This may partly be due to the educational effect 

 of the Bergen Fishery Exhibition of 1898. It 

 was visited by great numbers of excursionists 

 from the surrounding country, and they had 

 the opportunity of studying there the latest 

 developments in fish-catching apparatus. Since 

 then, several nets have been put out within two 

 miles of the mouth of our river. It appears 

 that they do not catch much, as it happens 

 that they cannot be set in the direct course of 

 running fish. It is probable that some were 

 started in the hope that I should buy them off, 

 as suggestions were offered me to that effect. 

 But to do so is a hopeless business, and would 

 only be the signal for a fresh crop. It is 

 difficult to learn what goes on, but I am 

 informed that one of these nets catches only 

 fish which are returning from the river, either 

 having broken our tackle, or having met with 

 an injury in the Fos or the ladder. If this is 

 true, it seems to show that fish return to the 

 sea by a different route from that by which they 

 come from it. 



