348 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. [8] 



brought greater wealth to the l?5"etherlands than the treasures of Amer- 

 ica to Spain. It will therefore be interesting to see how this trade first 

 sprung up. In olden times the Dutch fishermen visited foreign coasts 

 and there carried on coast fisheries. Thus, they visited Skania during 

 the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, and Bohuslan during the four- 

 teenth century. They did not, however, devote themselves exclusively 

 to the fisheries, but also to commerce. They brought goods and ex- 

 changed them for others, which, on their return, they scattered all over 

 the continent of Europe. This business paid very well, and the result 

 was that the Dutch for some time controlled the greater portion of the 

 commerce of the Baltic and of Scandinavia. Commerce was for a con- 

 siderable period their principal object in engaging in these fisheries. 

 Later the Dutch carried on fisheries on the coasts of Scotland and Nor- 

 way, and there the method of fishing was gradually developed which 

 at the present time characterizes the " great" Dutch fisheries. Towards 

 the end of the fourteenth century Willem Beuckelszoon, of Flanders, 

 invented an improved method of salting and packing herring. By us- 

 ing this method the herring could be sent to a greater distance, as they 

 kept much longer. 



In the year 1416 large seines were introduced. Formerly only small 

 nets had been used, and near the coast probably mostly stationary nets. 

 From that time the herring-fisheries were carried on more for the sake 

 of the fisheries themselves than for the sake of the commerce created 

 thereby ; the fishing trade consequently lost some of its economic im- 

 portance, but was turned more into fisheries exclusively. The fishing 

 fleets gradually increased to 2,000 vessels, and as each vessel had a 

 crew of 14 men, 28,000 persons were engaged in this trade. It will 

 therefore be seen that it was a very extensive and important trade. 

 From the seventeenth century, however, the fisheries began to decline 

 somewhat, as other nations, especially the English, began to compete 

 with the Dutch in this field. England placed every possible hindrance 

 in the way of the Dutch fishermen, and endeavored to prevent them 

 from fishing near Great Britain. Moreover, the Dutch capitalists and 

 fishermen found it more to their advantage to devote their attention to 

 other fisheries and trades, such as the whale fisheries, and in conse- 

 quence the herring-fisheries began to decline. During the eighteenth 

 century they decreased to such an extent that they had to be kept alive 

 by artificial means, such as premiums; and this condition of affairs con- 

 tinued during the first half of the nineteenth century ; but during the 

 last decades the herring-fisheries have again begun to flourish and have 

 made rapid progress. This improved condition is owing partly to the 

 building of railroads, which greatly facilitate the sale of fish, and partly 

 to other favorable circumstances. The Dutch can now sell large quanti- 

 ties of their herring in Belgium to much greater advantage than for- 

 merly. Belgium has during the last few years made great progress in 

 every respect, and consumes a large quantity, especially of smoked 



