-us- 

 as we have seen above from the statistics of the Aberdeen steam trawlers, are made on 

 the relatively narrow coastal banks where the cod are collected together in dense masses. 

 758 kg. per hour of fishing as average catch means a weekly catch (about ICX) 

 fishing hours) of 70—80,000 kg. for a single steamer, a number which considerably 

 exceeds the ordinary annual catch of cod by a steam trawler fishing in 

 the North Sea'. 



We must undoubtedly conclude, that the size of these catches arises from the fact, 

 that the stock of cod in the waters round Iceland is much richer than in the North Sea, 

 although the topography of the spawning places (the extent of the localities suited to spawn- 

 ing) naturally plays a great part also in the collection and dispersion of the shoals. 



In the second chapter, further, we have seen that the small larvae and young fishes 

 are carried round the coasts of Iceland by the currents, and that most of them grow up 

 on the north and east coasts where they occur in great quantities. 



During his investigations Schmidt has collected very valuable material regarding the 

 natural history of the older stages, to which we may refer here somewhat more particularly. 

 On the basis of his fishing experiments he has constructed the following table showing 

 the distribution of the cod at East Iceland in summer (July 1903) with 

 reference to the size^and depth^. 



According to this table the small cod at sizes up to 30 cm. occur in the fjords at a 

 depth of about 3 fathoms, thus in the littoral region. In depths of about 12 fathoms live 

 large quantities of cod between 30 and 60 cm. in size and the largest over 60 cm. are 



1 According to FuLTON. 



2 JOHS, Schmidt, Fiskeriundersögelser ved Island eg Fasröerne i Sommeren 1903. 

 Kommissionen for Havundersögelser. Nr. i. 



Skrifter udgivne af 



