138 THE SEA FISHERIES 



Dutch were engaged which first led to a decline in her fisheries. 

 In 1653, owing to fear of the British fleet, the whole of the herring 

 busses, still amounting to some 2000 sail, were kept at home. The 

 herring fishery was again forbidden in 1665 and 1666, and it was 

 not until after the Peace of Nijmegen, 1678, that any return of 

 prosperity attended the Dutch herring fleet. ^ This was very 

 fleeting. 



In 1702 the war of the Spanish succession brought the Republic 

 and France into conflict, and this continued until the peace -of 

 Utrecht in 1713. The Dutch herring trade was not now in a position 

 to recover rapidly, and certain of the restrictions on fishing and 

 curing already referred to, were now a positive hindrance to develop- 

 ment, whatever they may have been when first promulgated. 



In 1736 the Dutch herring fleet numbered only 300 sail, and 

 was still further reduced by 1779 to 162.* The Dutch Government 

 now tried direct encouragement by means of bounties (1775), but 

 without effect. 



The number of busses declined. At this time the Danes captured 

 a share of the herring markets, and, according to Thaarup,^ from 

 70,000 to 80,000 barrels were cured every year at Christiansund, 

 iDesides those cured at Drontheim and other places. 



At the end of the eighteenth century the Russian market for 

 herring was estimated at more than 100,000 roubles,* and the 

 Danes and Norwegians had at this period a preponderating share 

 of this. The imports at Konigsberg during the four years, 1763--67, 

 shows this clearly : — ^ 



1763 Imports. 418 barrels Dutch ; 16,349 barrels Danish and Norway. 



1764 „ 512 „ „ 20,118 



1765 „ 667 „ „ 22,686 

 1767 „ 747 .' " 18,099 



The Swedes, Prussians and French also made attempts to develop 

 herring fisheries about this time. The Swedes attempted the 

 foundation of a herring company in 1745. and soon made con- 

 siderable progress.* In 1764 and 1765 we read of complamts of 

 Swedish herrings to the amount of 20,000 barrels being imported 

 into Ireland and thence shipped to the British Colonies.' In 1776 

 the number of barrels sent to Ireland was 56,000. 



1 Beaujon, The History 0} the Dutch Sea Fisheries. 



« Posselt, Europaische Annalen, 1797. Part II. >,„«.>„,-„- Vnl I 



3 Versuch eimr StatisHk der Danischen MonarcUe. Kopenhagen, 179S. Vol. 1, 



^' 1°5+nrfh Jlist Stat Cemalde der RussichenReichs, Vol. II, V- 96- ,. ,^ ,„ 



4 Stotch.m^^. ^^^^;^/;»«.„^^ yoUstandigen Natur und Ha»dlungsgeschtchte des 



""'77 l°Xch!^ffiL'';^i/i. Naturgesckichte der Fische Deutschlands. Berlin. 



T-rSa Erster Theil. p. 261. (The octavo edition.) 



^ ' 'iSherton, Annals oj Commerce, Vol. HI, pp. 459 and 726. 



