SUPPLEMENT 



THE FISHERIES ON THE MURMAN COAST (NORTH RUSSIA) 



By L. BREITFUSS 



arnlheries' ^^^ ^^^^ climatic conditions in the northern parts of the province of Archangel 



permit the culture of the land to but a very small extent. The people of those parts — 

 especially of the town of Kola and the so-called "Pomoren" living on the coasts of the 

 White Sea — are thus driven to the Murman coast, where the southern parts of the 

 Barents Sea are always free of ice. From this coast, they carry on a fishery under great 

 difficulties in the inhospitable Arctic Ocean. 



At the present day, the Murman fishery plays a very important role in the life of 

 northern Russia, as a large portion of the inhabitants of the districts Onega, Kem and 

 Alexandrowsk in the province of Archangel are engaged in the actual fishery, and a 

 second portion in transporting the fish to Archangel and St. Petersburg in their small 

 schooners. About Vsrds of the annual catch, which amounts to between 500 — 600 thou- 

 sands puds* is brought to St. Petersburg and Baltic parts, and only about Vard of the 

 total goes to Archangel and ports on the White Sea. This means that only an insignif- 

 icantly small portion of the entire consumption in the north is supplied; the main supply 

 for the northern provinces, of Archangelsk, Wologda and Wjatka, comes from Norway, and 

 amounts to 1 — IV2 million puds. 



The import of Norwegian fish is aided to the extent, that it can be landed in Arch- 

 angel free of duty if brought in Russian ships; this is not permitted, however, in the 

 Russian ports on the Baltic. The reasons for this are, on the one hand to encourage the 

 shipping in the north, and on the other hand to protect the relatively feeble Murman 

 fishery from competition. 

 Age of the fishery 'pjjg Murman fishery is of very ancient date. The old chronicles of the IXth century 

 tell of the voyages of the Russians in the northern Arctic Ocean. In the XVth and XVIth 

 centuries, the Russians not only engaged in the cod-fishery on the Murman coast, that is, 

 the northern coast of the Kola peninsula, but also carried on a not inconsiderable fishery 

 on the coasts of Finmark. In a report dating from 1774, the number of Russian fishermen 

 was estimated to be 1300 at that time, whereas the number of fishermen's families settled 

 in Finmark was only 300. In the report of the district-officer for 1775, we read: "the 

 Russians have without doubt fished more than the subjects of his Majesty the King of 



' 1 pud = It) kilograms = 35'3 Eng. lbs. 



