420 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OP PISH AND FISHERIES. [6] 



from a purely scientific stand-point, is of very great interestj^amongst 

 the rest with regard to the question where and when the spawning of 

 the eel takes place ; for this reason I have deemed it proper to call 

 attention to this sul3jectj and shall now continue my review of the eel- 

 fisheries. 



l^HE SEASON WHEN THE EEL-FISHEKIES ARE CARRIED ON, AND THE 

 CIRCUMSTANCES WHICH ARE SUPPOSED TO INFLUENCE THE SAME. 



The " hommor " eel -fisheries are everywhere confined to the latter 

 part of summer and autumn. Near Grissleham and Laudsort they are 

 reported to begin about the 29th July, and last till the beginning of 

 October, when night-frosts set in. On the coast of Ostergotland, Kal- 

 mar, and Blekiuge the fisheries also commence towards the end of July 

 or the beginning of August, and come to a close in October, and some- 

 times in November. On the coasts of Scania the fisheries never begin 

 until some time in August, and are generally but little productive until 

 September and October. In November they decline, and if any eels 

 are caught in December it is an exception.* In the Sound the eel- 

 fisheries do not commence till September, and most eels are caught 

 during October. Near Humlebeck, on the Danish side of the Sound, 

 about one (Danish) mile southwest of Elsinore (Helsingor), the fisheries 

 commence on the 1st of October, and always close on the 10th of Novem- 

 ber.t The further up the Sound we go, the later in autumn are the 

 fisheries carried on, which certainly confirms the opinion that the eels 

 wander along thecoast in a northerly direction out into the Kattegat. 

 As regards the time when the eel-fisheries are carried on, it should 

 be stated that darkness is the only time when these fisheries can 

 be engaged in, and that their beginning therefore depends on the 

 time when a change of the moon takes place. During dark nights 

 the best hauls are made. During moonlight nights, on the other 

 hand, none or but very few eels are caught, and most fishermen do 

 not set their apparatus in such nights.f In the beginning of the 

 fishing season the eel-fisheries are nowhere very productive, but few 

 eels being caught during July. Under ordinary circumstances the 

 best time for eel-fishing is in September, and higher up the sound in 

 October. Later in autumn the fisheries gradually decline, and gener- 

 ally come to a close as soon as snow begins to fall. The eel seems to 

 stir about principally during the night ; during daytime hardly any 



* In the Great Belt the eel-fisheries with fish-pots do not commence till the end of 

 September or the beginning of October, and the fish-pots are left in the water during 

 two new moons. Near Nyborg attempts were made to continue the fisheries till 

 Christmas, but only one eel was caught during December. 



t J. Collin, Nordish TidssJcrift for Fislceri, vol. ii, p. 182. 



X From information furnished by Mr. Areschoug it appears, however, that even 

 during a full moon good hauls can be made, if the water is previously stirred up by 

 a storm, and a light sea-breeze keeps it agitated. 



