[15] THE HERRING FISHERIES OF .SWEDEN. 743 



eily observed, may do good, or at any rate prevent a good deal of dam- 

 age. All unnecessary destruction of tlie fry must, as a general rule, be 

 considered as hurtful, and sbould, therefore, as far as compatible with 

 the proper supply of bait, be prevented. But such legislation cannot 

 be carried out successfully in the waters near the Norwegian bouudarj^ 

 line, unless similar regulations are adojited on the Norwegian side. 



The complaints of the decline of the Bohuslan fiord fisheries are very 

 old, and it would be necessary to take careful statistics of these fisheries 

 for a considerable length of time, in order to determine whether these 

 fisheries are to some extent i)eriodical, or whether the decline is owing 

 to the lack of projier care. 



It will hardly be possible to improve the herring fisheries b}^ artificial 

 iuipregnation, or to increase the quantity of herring food by throwing 

 organic matter into the water near the coast, as Prof. A. W. Malm pro- 

 poses. All. such propositions must be considered as impracticable at- 

 tempts to manage the small and unimportant fiord fisheries on the same 

 plan 3S the entirely different enormous sea fisheries. 



5. Legislation regarding the herring fisheries. 



I have made extensive historical and comparative studies with the 

 view of obtaining a basis for special legislation for the Bohuslan herring 

 industry and the other Bohuslan sea fisheries, which, howevei?, should 

 be continued and comi)leted, to meet the demands of the times. 



The right of fishing, especially iu Bohuslan, has been made the sub- 

 ject of thorough investigations by me, which have finally led me to con- 

 clusions far different from those generally entertained. The right of the 

 Crown to the herring fisheries has thus been shown to have been main- 

 tained in olden times, and to some extent in the present time; this right 

 has been shown to have referred to the secular periodical fisheries. 



I have pointed to the necessity of laws to regulate the herring trade, 

 have called attention to the lack of a fixed measure for measuring the 

 fresh herring, and have advocated that, as regards the herring barrels, 

 a certain minimum size should be fixed. 



I have made very extensive preliminary studies not only with the view 

 to become acquainted with all the old Swedish laws relating to the sea 

 fisheries, but also to prepare new laws for these fisheries. 



6. Administration (supervision) of the herring fisheries. 



As regards the gathering of the necessary material for drawing up a 

 plan for the administration of the Bohuslan fisheries, I have also done 

 something, ^principally by making extensive and comparative studies of 

 all the subjects bearing on this question. The studies should, however, 

 be continued and extended by making observations in foreign countries. 

 With the view to encouraging the authorities to lend their aid towards 

 the development of the Bohuslan herring fisheries, I made a motion at 



