( 355 ) 



SWEDEN. 



(For Plan, seep. 358.) 



OWING to the fact that Sweden, which is almost entirely surrounded by water (its coast-line 

 is 2,500 kilom.), has a great many rivers and streams, and next to Finland, the greatest 

 number of lakes of any country in Europe, (one-twelfth of the area of Sweden consists of water) 

 the very nature of the country renders it peculiarly adapted to fish-culture ; and hence it 

 follows that its fishery grounds ought to be one of the chief sources of the trade and 

 industry of Sweden. The waters of the coasts differ considerably from one another, as well 

 as from the waters of the lakes, a circumstance which causes varieties in the fish fauna. The 

 number of known species of fish in Sweden is at present about 170, of which, however, 

 only about 50 are commonly caught for use. The most important fisheries are : 



A. The Herring and Sprat Fisheries of the Baltic and the West Coast. These, no doubt 

 the most important fisheries, are carried on from the inmost part of the Gulf of Bothnia as 

 far as the northern part of the province of Bohus. The nets used by the fishermen are 

 standing nets (saltgarn), seines (vadar), and driftnets (drifgarn). The boats used in the 

 Baltic are mostly open, and have a crew of two to three men ; on the west coast the boats ursed 

 in drift-fishing are decked, and have from three to five men. Seine fishing requires at least 

 from ten to fifteen men for each seine. On the western and southern coasts of the country 

 the herring fishery is generally carried on by a population living together in large fishing 

 villages, and obtaining their subsistence solely from the fishery. But along the coasts of the 

 inner Baltic from Kalniar to Haparanda, as well as the coast of the island of Gotland, the 

 herring fishery is carried on partly by people who live in the interior and only visit the 

 archipelagoes during the fishing season, and partly by fishermen from the various islands. 

 The Baltic herring (stromming}, a smaller variety of Clupea harengus L., is sold either fresh 

 in the towns along the coast, or else salted in barrels. The barreled article is generally sold 

 in Sweden salted herring being the daily food of the Swedish peasant ; but of late years 

 it has also been exported to Germany. Herrings (Clupea harengus) and sprats (Clupea 

 tprattus} are also caught, especially of late years, during the autumn and winter months, in 

 the Skager-Rack, on the coast of the province of Bohus. The herrings are partly sold fresh 

 and partly salted in barrels or smoked. The sprats likewise are partly sold fresh, and 

 partly pickled or spiced, while some are prepared as " anchovies," and sold under that name, 

 although of course they are a different kind of fish from the true anchovy. Considerable 

 quantities of these have been exported during the last few years. The yearly revenue of 

 the herring and sprat fisheries of the whole country may be estimated in round numbers at 

 3,865,000 Swedish crowns, of which sum 2,650,000 is the revenue of the herring fishery in the 

 Baltic and the Sound 



B. The Coast and Sea Fisheries (with the exception of the Herring, Sprat, Salmon and 

 Eel Fisheries). Near the west coast and in the Baltic Sea the fishery is carried on in small 

 vessels, but on the banks in the Skager-Kack and off the west coast of Skagen and Norway 

 in larger vessels, called lank-smacks, which have a crew of twelve or fourteen men. The 

 tackle used for the bank-fishery is the " Stor-backa," a long line that is laid out on the banks, 

 and often laid at a depth of from 100 to 200 fathoms. As a bait either mussels or bits 

 of fish are used. With this tackle are caught the cod, coalfish, and haddock (Gadus morrhua, 

 L., G. virens, L., G. aeglefinus, L.), the ling (Molva vulgaris, Nills.), the tornback (Raja 

 davata, L.), and the halibut (Hippoglossus vulgaris, Cuv.) Of the fish caught part is sold 

 I'resh, but the greater part is prepared as "stockfish" or salted, either by Norwegian merchants 

 or by fish-curers in the province of Bohus. From the liver " codliver oil" is prepared, and 

 the roe is salted to be afterwards sold for bait to the sardine fisheries in France. The annual 

 revenue of these fisheries in Skager-Kack, together with the revenue of the mackerel and 

 the lobster and oyster fisheries carried on in the province of Bohus, is computed at 1,339,500 

 Swedish crowns. Besides this, the statistical reports from the province of Scania give tho 



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