APPENDIX K: KYLE — 8 — 



Petersen and Otterstram in their work on the Danish fisheries. They are: a line 

 drawn from the Skaw to Vinga off Gothenburg, dividing the Kattegat from the Skager 

 Rak; lines drawn from Hasenore in Jutland to Gniben in North Sealand and from Copen- 

 hagen to Malmö in Sweden, dividing the Kattegat from the Belts and Baltic ^ 



The plaice fishing within these boundaries is carried on for the most part in 

 less than 30 fathoms. If we take 44 fathoms (80 meters) as the extreme limit of the 

 fishing, we can readily ascertain the total area fished over. This amounts to ca. 5430 sq. 

 nautical miles or ca. l8,6(X) sq. kilometers 2. The greater part of this area is of a sandy 

 nature and lies in less than 20 fathoms, from the Jutland coast out to Laesö and Anholt 

 in the centre and across the southern half of the Kattegat. Beyond the 20 fathoms, the 

 bottom has a muddy character. The Kattegat is thus well-adapted to the plaice and to 

 the plaice fishery. There are no rocks on the Danish side, only a few patches of stones 

 which do not disturb the Danish snurrevaad so much as they would the trawl. On the 

 Swedish side, the bottom is more rocky and a different mode of fishing for the plaice, 

 i. e. with gill-nets, is employed. 



I. Danish plaice fishery in the Kattegat 



The condition of the plaice fishery in the Kattegat was investigated by Petersen 

 some years ago and his report, published in 1894, has been generally considered, and 

 rightly too, one of the most valuable contributions to the problem of overfishing. The 

 conclusions he arrived at, though dealing only with the Kattegat, are of general and wide 

 importance, and the description he has given of the progress of the Kattegat plaice 

 fishery, its rise to a maximum of output or production and then its apparent decline, 

 agrees in essentials with many descriptions of the plaice fisheries in the North Sea and 

 elsewhere. What is of greatest value in the report of Petersen is, that he was able to 

 observe the fishery exactly at the time when it had reached its apparent maximum or as 

 Petersen calls it "culmination", and with ten more years gone by, it is fortunate that 

 we have this report as a basis for comparison. 



It appears from Petersen's report, that the plaice fishery of the Kattegat was 

 practically in its infancy previous to 1876. The chief fishing grounds were close to the 

 coast and the fishing was carried on by gill-nets. Deep-sea fishing was then but little 

 practised, and there were consequently few fishing cutters. During the decade from 1880 

 to 1890, the importance of the plaice fishery increased by leaps and bounds. The large 

 boats increased in number and size, and the fishing grounds were extended to the whole 

 of the Kattegat and even already to the Skager Rak and North Sea. It was at the 

 beginning of this decade also, that the famous "snurrevaad" or so-called plaice-seine was 

 introduced, and its introduction necessitated larger boats and improved gear. 



The alterations which occurred in the fishing, up to the time when Petersen wrote 

 his report, may be summarised under the following headings. 



(1) "the fishing grounds have become several times larger, than 15 years previously." 



(2) "the fishing power is certainly 20— 40 times larger", and the number of hauls 

 per day more numerous. 



1 Two small villages lying within this line on the Jutland coast, have also been included. 



2 This has been calculated with the friendly assistance of Mr. Martin Knudsen of Copenhagen. 



