23 



JOHS. SCHMIDT 



the south and south-west coast, in June it has moved to the more northern part of the 

 west coast. Still later, in the course of July, the great mass of the still drifting cod young 

 are met with on the north coast and later, perhaps about the middle of August, on the 

 east coast, where it is to be remarked they first show themselves in the northern parts. 



How great is the part played by the currents in the transport of the young cod in 

 tlie earliest stages, will perhaps be best understood on mentioning, that it was found by 

 I. N. Nielsen, through the hydrographical investigations of the "Thor" in 1904, that the 

 rate of movement of the water from the west coast along the north coast' agreed with 

 the rate of drift of the cod young, which could be calculated from its distribution at 

 different times. 



There is a remarkable agreement between these investigations on the occurrence of 

 the pelagic cod young and those we made on the distribution of the following develop- 

 mental stage, the bottom stages. A selection of the results of the 1904 investigations 

 is given in the following list, where for the sake of comparison the early bottom stages 

 of the coalfish (Gadus virens) are also included.^ 



List of the hauls with the eel drag-seine from ca. 10—20 M. to land, made by the 



"Thor" at Iceland in 1904. A comparison is made between the occurrence of 



the bottom stages of Gadus callarias and Gadus virens. 



Gadus virens Gadus callarias 



1. Seydis Fjord (east coast); depth 20 meters 



26. April 1904 

 2 hauls (surface temp.: 1-5°; bottom temp.: 1-3°) 

 none of 0-group 



' I. N. Nielsen, Meddelelser fra Kommissionen for Havundersegelser, Serie Hydrografl,; Bd. I, 

 Nr. 7, 1905, p. 28. 



"- The hauls were chiefly made by means of the eel drag-seine, the net being rowed out in a boat 

 to ca. 10-20 M. depth and then dragged over the ground to the land. Hundreds of hauls were made in 

 this manner on the coasts of Iceland in the course of the three years, and great numbers of the cod and 

 coalfish were thus taken, these species as is well known passing their first year in shallow water 

 amongst the algal vegetation. 



