À STUDY ON TROUT AND YOUNG SALMON. 



for sea trout under our present regulations only can be carried 

 out with unlawful gear. 



The only way in wich our fishermen during the latter years 

 have been able to procure sea trout in quantities worth men- 

 tioning, has been to use ordinary small meshed seines (20 — 30 

 fathoms long). The use of these seines for herrings and other 

 sea fish is in most parts of our country unlimited by law. The 

 trout cought during the use of these seines is then sold under 

 protection of the regulation concering the minimum size of 21 

 cm. for sale of salmon and sea trout. 



In case the fishermen are not cought in the very act of killing 

 trout smaller than 40 cm.s long taken in seines or nets con- 

 viction is not easy. Ho vever there has been no lack of colli- 

 sions between the fishermen and the guardians of the law on 

 this point, and it will be quite well understood, that a fishery, 

 working under such conditions, has no chance of being car- 

 ried on rationally. 



The conditions, here briefly scetched, have occasioned very 

 pointed differences of opinion as to whether the sea trout ought 

 to be cought or not. 



Foreign sportsmen especially have publicly in sporting your- 

 nals and other press organs asserted, that the salmon fry 

 upon leaving the rivers are „swept out" by nets and sold under 

 the name of sea trout, and have also pointed out, that this fact, 

 would imply the certain ruin of our salmonfisheries. 



The opinion of the „lawless" trout fishermen is just the 

 opposite. They strongly assert the innocense of their industry 

 as to harming the salmonfisheries. On the contrary they often 

 give prominence to the fact, that they consider it a deed of 

 merit to kill the trout who is „a rapacious fish and the foe of 

 the salmon". 



In recognition of these facts Mr. A. Landmark, inspector 

 of fisheries in 1897 consulted Dr. Johan Hjort and the author 

 of this paper, and finally proposed to governement the commen- 



Nyt Mag. f. Naturv. XXXXIL III. 15 



