ne 
Million kilos Million fish 
I) .ccccces 52 35.6 
OM ON arses 63. 42.0 
TOUR ee 80.4 48.4 
NO AR ge 99.2 56.0 
In 1910, the first year in which the 1904 class, then six years old, could be of great 
importance in the Finmark fishery, we notice a marked increase in the yield, this being 
still more evident in 1911 and 1912, when the yield of the Finmark fishery reached a 
figure never previously attained. The 1904 year class must thus have been not only 
richer than other contemporary year classes, but also unusually rich in comparison with 
any earlier known. 
Fluctuations of the fishery in former years. 
We have hitherto confined ourselves to the period during which the 1904 year class 
played so great a part in the fishery of the northern Norwegian waters, especially the 
years 1909—1913. It would be natural now to glance back at the earlier years, and 
endeavour to ascertain whether similar fluctuations in the stock, and thus also in the 
fishery, are here again apparent. The farther back we go, however, the less satisfactory 
do we find the available material. A thorough investigation of the question demands 
the examination of many samples both as regards age and size; and of such material 
but little is obtainable. We may however, investigate what there is, by comparing the 
information at hand as to the Finmark fish with that regarding the skrei. 
I901I—I903. 
We may commence with the years 1901—1903, the earliest years for which exten- 
sive measurements exist. My own investigations were begun in Finmarken in 1901, 
and in 1902, measurements of both skrei and Finmark fish were taken; in 1903 on the 
skrei banks off Tromso, Rost and Lofoten. Fig. 97 shows the results of all the measure- 
ments taken, the skrei samples being represented by a full-drawn curve, the Finmark 
fish by a dotted line. In Finmarken, only a few (abt. 20 %) skrei (over 65 cm.) were found 
in 1901, the stock consisting for the most part of fish about 55—59 em., including also 
many (some 40 %) under 55cm. It must therefore be supposed that the line-caught 
fish consisted of several year classes, the largest fish being 4, 5, and 6 years old. The 
curve is very wide, without any strongly marked maximum. This is even more distinctly 
noticeable when we consider, not the line caught fish above, but also the trawling catches 
for this year. In the latter part of May 1901, I made a number of hauls with the trawl 
in the Varangerfjord, which gave the following results as regards the cod: 
Composition in point of size Trawl-caught fish, Varangerfjord, May 1901. 
Under 20 20-30 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-59. 55-59 60-64 Over 65 
6.6 6.9 4.3 10.1 13.2 21.3 14.2 6.1 5.8 11.8 
Here we find the 45—49 cm. group predominant; thus the 3 and 4 year old fish must 
have been numerous, especially the latter. 
