— 246 — 



come from the Baltic and the Danish waters. The distance is much shorter and the 

 dangers and difficulties of the way are thus greatly diminished. Further there is no doubt, 

 that the quantities of eels to be found in the Baltic and Kattegat are rather unimportant, 

 in comparison with those, which occur in France, Great Britain and the southern North 

 Sea countries, to which the young eels have a much easier approach'. 



For these reasons it must be strongly emphasized, that the main point in practical 

 regard is not where the eels of the Baltic and Denmark propagate. How many of these 

 there are which after all reach so far is not known, but those that do propagate in the 

 Atlantic west of Great Britain and France, where also the great majority of the eels, 

 which come from the latter countries and the North Sea countries propagate. And to 

 take a wide view it is very improbable, that the contingent of young fish, which are to 

 be ascribed to the eels of the Baltic countries and Denmark, should play any great essen- 

 tial part in comparison with the quantities produced by the eels of the Atlantic and 

 North Sea countries. On the contrary the main points in practical regard are, where 

 the young eels, which the Baltic countries and Denmark receive, come 

 from, if they receive sufficient numbers of them and if not how they can 

 obtain sufficient numbers. To these questions the present investigations may, at 

 any rate partly, give an answer. From what has been said previously (p. 221 — 23) it is 

 evident, that the quantities of young eels, which appear along the coasts of the different 

 countries, vary considerably, and that they are in the first instance dependent on the 

 distance from the spawning places. The quantities of young eels, which come to the 

 countries or regions of Western and Northern Europe, where there are favourable condi- 

 tions for them to grow up to eatable size, are thus not everywhere equal in amount. On 

 the contrary a comparison of regions at different distances from the spawning places 

 would establish the important fact, that whilst on the one hand, as is known, there are 

 regions, where the supply is too small and the young eels too few, there are on 

 the other hand places, where there are too many, i. e. where on account of the proximity 

 to the spawning places or the particular form of the coasts, there necessarily must come 

 far more young fish, than there is room for or food. Such localities are for example 

 various places along the coast of France and of the Bristol Channel in the southwest of 

 England, and the in great part undoubtedly superfluous quantities of young eels are not 

 appreciated there, so little so that people catch them by millions to boil or fry them or 

 sometimes even to give them to the pigs! In places many hundreds are daily engaged in 

 catching them, and catches of 100 lbs. pr. man in one night are common. The price per pound 



I That the eel fisheries in spite of this play such a relatively large part in the Baltic countries and Den- 

 mark may to my mind be attributed (i) to these countries being unusually well situated for catching the 

 migrating eels, with their low sandy coasts and the absence of tides. This fishery for the migrating eels in the sea 

 on the coast of the Baltic countries and Denmark forms indeed a very great part in the product of the eel 

 fisheries, which are elsewhere in Europe essentially carried on only in fieshwater. (2) The high status, which 

 the technique of the eel fisheries has reached in these countries, and which far exceeds that in the rest of 

 Europe (with single exceptions as for example Comacchio in Italy). There is therefore not the slightest doubt 

 that the eel fisheries here are exploited much better, than in the rest of Europe. But we also see, that 

 the eel fishery in the Baltic, in spite of these special advantages, nevertheless loses all importance, when we 

 come so far in as to the inner Baltic, where the supply of young fish is so scarce, that the best possible fishery- 

 technique itself would not make large eel fisheries. 



