— 222 — 



A lying furthest to the west, nearest the Atlantic, C furthest to the east away from the 

 Atlantic and B about halfway between A and C. 



With regard to A, the Bristol Channel, we have seen p. 200 that the elvers run up 

 the Parret River in a large compact mass, l8 inches broad, and that this run continues 

 whithout break for several days. And in the Severn River the conditions are very similar. 

 We saw p. 202 that at Gloucester alone hundreds of persons were engaged in the fishery 

 at the same time, and that one fisherman could often take too lbs. in one night, which 

 means that ca. 150,000 specimens are often taken by one fisherman in a 

 single night in the primitive apparatus used in this fishery and from this we obtain 

 an idea of the enormous quantities of elvers which must come up there. In a report 

 from another town on the Severn, namely Worcester, I read that one man can take 

 300 lbs. in a night, which means, almost half a million elvers. 



If we turn now to B, the Danish coasts, with which the Swedish west coast might 

 well be combined in this respect, we find that in contrast to the colossal quantities of 

 elvers which run up the Bristol Channel from the sea, the ascent on the Danish coasts is 

 rather insignificant. All who have had the opportunity to observe the phenomenon will 

 certainly agree on this, and it is practically only at the places where some hindrance or 

 another brings the run to a stop and thus causes the elvers to collect together, that 

 there is any sign of such large shoals as might stand comparison with those of which 

 we hear from West Europe. Further, the elvers are not fished for on a large scale, 

 either in Denmark or Sweden as at West Europe and it is therefore not so easy to 

 make a serviceable comparison with West Europe for those who know nothing of the 

 conditions on the Danish coasts. Nevertheless elvers are occasionally caught at several 

 places both in Denmark' and Sweden 2, where there is a relatively strong run at suitable 

 localities, and set out again at other places where a greater number of eels than nature 

 offers are desired. 



Thus, lor example, fisherman P. Willumsen of Snekkersten on the Sound has taken 

 the fry in the Sound and set them out in various inland seas in North Sealand, con- 

 cerning which he writes me: "The greater part of the fry I have taken were caught in 

 Snekkersten harbour by means of a shrimp shove net (a hand-net with netting, in this 

 case of open linen). The contents of the net were shaken out into a kind of filter or 

 coarse sieve, in which the fry were counted. The greatest number I have taken on one 

 day was 1800, but there were days when the number did not reach 50. For five con- 



I Elvers are set out in small quantities at several places in Denmark: in 1902 according to Chr. Levinsen 

 (Fiskeriberetning for 1901 — 1902, 1903, p. 357), 5000 were placed in Damhus Lake, 40,000 in Sjsel Lake, 

 ca. 200 pounds in Saltbaekvig, in Svogerslev Lake (no numbers given) and lastly in Kolding Slot Lake ca. 6000 

 (elvers of 5 — 6 inches in length). 



- Concerning the capture and transplantation of elvers in the neighbouring country, Sweden, F. Trybom 

 and C. Nystrom have given a very interesting description ("Uppgängsrännor for älyngel vid TroUhättan", 

 Svensk Fiskeri-Tidskriit, 1902, Haft I). The fishery is carried on at Silfverbacken at TroUhättan 1 (west coast 

 of Sweden) by means of so-called "AUedare" large wooden traps into which a long (e.g. 33 meters) wooden 

 pipe opens. This pipe, along the bottom of which are strewn small stones and bits of heath to facilitate the 

 ascent of the eels, is placed with its mouth, which is somewhat wider, at the places where the elvers are 

 prevented by too strong a current from ascending further up the river. The elvers are caught in the trap after 

 passing up the wooden pipe, and the trap can then be emptied of its elver contents, which are set out again 



