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countries surrounciing the Baltic. In these cüuntrics and especially in Denmark, Germany 

 and Sweden the migrating eels are not lost to sight after they have left the fresh water, 

 and indeed a very important eel fishery is carried on in the sea. The migrating eels are 

 chiefly taken in traps ("Ruser", "hommor", "ryssjor", "Reusen" etc.), which are set from 

 the margin of the beach outwards in shallow water (at the most down to ca. 6 — 7 fm.). 

 The eels readily fall into these traps in their journey along the coast. The eel-trap 

 fishery is of great importance and many of the Danish coasts in the autumn are literally 

 lined by the traps. 



It has long been known on the Baltic coasts that the migrating eels are wandering 

 in the autumn in the direction from the Baltic out towards the open sea, 

 and even before the middle of last century prominent ichthyologists like Henrik Kröyer 

 in Denmark and Nilsson in Sweden quite understood that the migrating eels must be 

 seeking the deep salt water. 



If we examine the manner in which the traps on the German, Swedish and Danish 

 coasts are set for the fishing, we are able to tell the main direction taken by the migra- 

 ting eels in the different waters. Dallmer thus arrived at the result that the migration 

 along the southern part of the Baltic is from east to west. Lundberg' investi.gated the 

 question for Sweden and concluded that the eels migrate from the northernmost parts of 

 the Baltic southwards along the east coast of Sweden ^ to Skâne, then turn towards the 

 west as far as the Sound, then northwards through this to the Kattegat. He supports his 

 view with the information, that the fishing begins earliest in the north of the Baltic (thus 

 in July), somewhat later further south (Aug., Sept.) and last of all in the northern part of 

 the Sound. The migration has not been followed further to the north along the Swedish 

 west coast as no trap-fishery is carried on there. According to Lundberg the number of 

 traps on the Swedish coasts are 18,491. 



With regard to the Danish waters, this matter has been thoroughly investigated by 

 C. G. JoH. Petersen 3, who carried through the great work of having all the eel-traps used 

 on the Danish sea-coasts counted. In 1899—1900 there were 22,608 (apart from those in 

 fresh water and excluding the smaller waters). Judging from the manner in which the 

 traps are set and the coasts on which they occur, there can be no doubt that the main 

 direction of the migration of the eels is from south to north in the Danish 

 waters. Further, according to Petersen, whilst the Danish eel fishery in the Sound is 

 mostly based on the silver eels coming from the Baltic and its upper waters, the remain- 

 ing Danish trap-fisheries depend chiefly on silver eels which have grown up in Danish 

 waters. The greatest Danish trap-fisheries are carried on in the Sound, Great and Littie 

 Belts and on the east coast of Jutiand north from Hou. On the northern part of the 

 Jutland east coast but few traps are found and on the North Sea coast none at all in 

 the sea. 



1 R. Lundberg, Cm àlfisket med s. k. hommor vid svenska Östersjökusten samt Öresund (K. Landtbruks- 

 Akademiens Handlingar och Tidskrift for 1881), also: Meddelanden rorande Sveriges Fiskerier, p. 60 — 63, 1883, 

 and "International Fisheries Exhibition at Bergen 1898, Sweden, Special Catalogue". Stockholm, 1898. 



2 According to Feddersen (Fiskeritidende, p. 50, 1882) the traps at Leba (Baltic south coast) are always 

 so placed that the eels may enter them from the east. They wander with the sun. If the traps are turned 

 round, nothing is taken. 



3 C. G. JoH. Petersen, List of the "Aalerusestader" in Denmark etc. (Report Danish Biological Station, 

 No. X for 1900 — 1901. 



