[9] THE NORWEGIAN FISHERIES IN 1883. 367 



rather in the unfavorable condition of the weather and in the selection 

 of unsuitable times and places than in lack of skill and enterprise. 

 About 100 N"orwegian boats were engaged in the herring fisheries be- 

 tween Udsire, Rover, and Bommelbaad. The yield varied greatly and 

 cannot be termed very successful. 



The attempt made by the Dutch will not be repeated. A Norwegian 

 vessel caught spring herring 14 miles from Egersund as early as De- 

 cember 7. At Hvidnigsoe and Skudesnses spring herring were for the 

 first time caught on December 24. 



The herring fisheries near the Hval Islands came to a close in March, 

 and yielded an estimated quantity of 60,000 tons of salt herring, some 

 of which, however, had been caught by Swedish fishermen. Of this 

 quantity 24,000 tons were salted on board vessels from Haugesund, 

 3,000 tons on vessels from Stavanger, and 12,000 tons on vessels from 

 Bergen. 



On the Norwegian side of the Hval Islands herring ware last year 

 caught for the first time on December 14. About the middle of Decem- 

 ber large schools of herring appeared outside the Laugesund fiord and 

 the Laurvig fiord, and a large number were caught near Nevlunghavn 

 and in the Vig fiord. At the close of the year large masses of herring 

 were observed outside the Flekke fiord. Some specimens, which were 

 sent to the editor of this journal, measured from 317 to 336 millimeters 

 [14 inches] in length and were full of milt and roe, weighing from 40 to 

 50 grams [nearly 2 ounces]. 



The Iceland herring fisheries. — Total number of Norwegian 

 vessels engaged, 157 ; seines, 383 ; crews, 1,807 ; yield, in tons, 103,886. 

 Calculating the ton of fresh herring at 8 crowns [$2.14], and of salt her- 

 ring at 19 crowns [$5.09], the total yield of these fisheries would repre- 

 sent the sum of 554,400 crowns [$148,579.20] and 1,973,834 crowns 

 [$528,987.51 1, respectively. At the end of the year 1883, the Norwe- 

 gians had in all 56 fishing stations in Iceland, each station being com- 

 posed of a dwelling-house and a warehouse. 



The FAT-HERRING FISHERIES IN THE NORDLAND DISTRICT. — 



From January 1 till the middle of December tax was paid on 430,300 

 tons of herring. Some of these belong to 1882 and some were caught 

 in the spring of 1883. These latter were estimated at 40,000 tons. On 

 the other hand, a large quantity of herring had not yet reached the 

 custom-houses, and many are still in the hands of Nordland merchants. 

 The principal fisheries were carried on in October and November, and 

 chiefly in the districts of Bejern, Skjserstad, and Bodo. From places 

 outside the districts of Nordland and Trcmsoe 50,000 tons of herring 

 were imported into Bergen alone. 



Other fisheries. — The whale fisheries near Iceland were carried on 

 (besides by the vessels mentioned on page 267 of our last volume) by 1 

 vessel from Haugesund. Three companies in Haugesund also had 

 shares in Mr. Foyn's establishment in the Isa fiord. 



