Norway. 303 



not to be had, pieces of codfish or its roe. A boat equipped for long-line fishing is from 

 36 to 40 ft. long, 9 to 10 ft. wide, and 3 ft. deep, has at least six sets or 24 lines, each with 

 120 hooks, 6 or 8 ft. distant, on fine snoods of hemp or cotton, 16 to 20 in. long. The bait 

 is the same as in hand-line fishing. At the time prescribed by the officers in charge of the 

 Fishing Stations, usually in the afternoon, and only at the places they appoint, the lines are set, 

 with from 500 to 2400 hooks, according to the number of the crew and to local circumstances. 

 If the fish rise from the bottom, the lines also are raised to the same height by means of 

 glass floats. On the following morning the lines are taken up. If the fish are near the coast, 

 and not much time is required for rowing out and back, the fishery with long-lines may take 

 place during the day. The proceeds of this fishery are of course very variable. On the average 

 it may be taken from 50 to 60 fish daily per set (Bak). The boats equipped for fishing with 

 gill-nets have generally 30 to 35 nets on board. The length of the nets varies from 15 to 20 

 fathoms; the depth between 25 and 60 meshes, measuring from 80 to 95, and sometimes 

 95 to 100 millimetres between the knots on each side. The nets are kept upright in the 

 water by floats of hollow glass (an invention by Mr. Christopher Faye in Bergen), wood, 

 or cork. A catch of between 400 and 500 cod is considered satisfactory. If the take exceeds 

 600 to 800 fish, the fishermen are obliged to leave part of the nets in the sea until the after- 

 noon, as the boats can seldom hold a larger number of fish besides the nets and the crew. 

 The catch of codfish for the years 1876-82, for Lofoten, in the season, i.e. from January to April 

 or May, was an average, 26-3 millions fish. The number of fishermen, 26,309, with from 6500 

 to 6800 open boats. 



THE OTHER LARGE COD FISHERIES. While great shoals of cod come into the Vestfjord, others, 

 in order to spawn, seek the banks on the outside of the coast from the 69th degree of latitude 

 to the North Cape. Small shoals of cod with roe and milt appear up to Vardo. But this is 

 generally of small importance in comparison with that of the so-called capelin fishery. At 

 the end of February sometimes earlier the appearance of millions of gulls (Larus glaucus, 

 Larus eburneus) and the blowing of a number of whales on the surface of the ocean, in 

 the vicinity of the North cape, or frequently somewhat more to the east, announces that the 

 small capelin (Mallotus villosus, Osmerus arcticus) the favourite food of the codfish, is 

 approaching the coast ; and the codfish follow in immense masses. Towards the end of May, 

 the capelin usually retire to the ocean, accompanied by the masses of cod, which the 

 fishermen pursue to a distance of some miles from the coast. But in the Varanger fjord 

 they sometimes remain until June. The average catch for the years 1876 to 1880 is calcu- 

 lated at 15-3 millions of cod, for on the coast of Finmarken, the number of fishermen being 

 over 14,000 and of the open boats over 4000. From January or February to April or May, 

 the cod fishery is also going on from open boats, and partly from decked vessels, along the 

 -coast of Romsdal, Sondmore, and Nordmo're (between Cape Stat and Trondhjem). The catch 

 of the season was on an average, for the years 1876-80, about 7 '5 millions of cod, making a 

 total for all the three cod fisheries mentioned above an average of 49-1 millions of cod in 

 the winter and spring seasons. The catch of cod, ling, tusk, coalfish, and haddock, in the 

 summer and autumn is of less importance, and so is the catch of cod in winter and spring at 

 other stations than the above-mentioned parts of the coast. If all these fisheries are put 

 together, the amount of fish caught will be pretty large, as it yields an average export pf 

 dried and dry-salted fish of 75,000,000 yearly, which would answer to about 375,000 tons of 

 live fish. 



THE HERRING FISHERIES. 



The annals of Norway mention that in the first half of the sixteenth century the fishery of 

 winter herrings took place on a large scale in the neighbourhood of Bergen, while towards 1567 

 the fish did not visit these coasts. It is supposed that the herrings were again there in the 

 seventeenth century ; but it is known that from 1650 to 1654 there was no fishery. In all 

 probability the fishery did not recommence before 1699 or 1700, and from this time it was 

 carried on uninterruptedly until 1784, although with extremely variable results. In the 

 year 1784 the herrings again deserted the coast, and did not reappear until 1808. From 

 this year to 1870, the winter herrings have constantly visited the coast in great ! masses, 

 yet a remarkable decrease was noted in the last named year. At present there are scarcely 

 more than 30,000 barrels of spring herrings caught at the old stations. The shoals of herrings 



