THE HISTORY OP DUTCH SEA FISHERIES. 515 



virtue of which cure-herring shipowners annually clubbed 

 to equip sale-hunters, and each buss, while at sea, sold her 

 early herring to these for a price fixed beforehand. The 

 much higher prices made in the home market for this 

 "hunted herring" (Jaag-haring) were then divided among 

 the participators in the " Hunting Association " (Jagery- 

 vereeniging), according to the number of barrels sold to 

 the hunters by each buss ; and a managing Committee of 

 shipowners regulated the sale and expedition of the early 

 herring so as to prevent an overstocking of the market 

 and a downfall of prices early in the season.* Under the 

 very favourable circumstances mentioned just now the 

 number of the vessels of course increased fast, and reached 

 1 60 in 1817. A series of exceptionally bad years, during 

 which the catch was very scanty, and most busses " sailed 

 money overboard," notwithstanding tolerable prices, re- 

 duced the number of busses to 145 in 1821. In the said 

 year a shipowning company established at Emden trans- 

 ferred its fleet of twenty-five busses to Enkhuizen and 

 carried the total of the Dutch fleet up to 170. Fishing 

 returns in 1821 were once more plentiful ; but prices went 

 down to an extremely low level, mainly on account of the 

 competition of Scotch herring in the foreign markets ; and 

 several firms were in jeopardy. At this juncture, a herring 

 dealer from Amsterdam, in the spring of 1822, proposed a 

 measure which, being adopted by the principal shipowners 

 of the towns on the Maas, led to some amelioration of 

 prices. They agreed not to sell herring under fl.17 a 

 barrel before October I5th, whereas fl.io had been paid in 

 the preceding year. This was a considerable extension of 



* After steam navigation had come in, the Dutch Government 

 annually supplied a steamer to the Hunting Association to act as the 

 first " sale-hunter." 



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